He had never been happier.

    Everyone was laughing as they ate. Jay had woken up right before they sat down; claiming the smell of Zane's pasta had called him. His new Titanium Falcon was flying above their heads, occasionally picking up random pieces of food from various plates and dropping it on someone's head and dancing. It was one the best meals he'd ever been a part of, including the first one aboard the Bounty.

    "See? What did I tell you? They'll help you, Zane."

    He smiled even wider, and whispered in an undertone, "You were right. You always were," then proceeded to burst out laughing as the Falcon dropped a piece of sushi on Cole and it got stuck in his head, not quite passing through.

    The robot felt his depression slip away at the sight of all of them laughing together. They were all one big family, not just comrades, or co-workers anymore. They were one, and, hopefully, that would never change.

    As the laughter died down, Jay stood up. All eyes turned to face him, and his face turned a light shade of pink from the attention. "Uh, um...Zane, I, uh...I have a surprise for you!"

    The attention switched from the flustered Blue Ninja to the shocked Titanium one. Jay continued, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I wanted to give it to you earlier, but it wasn't ready yet, and then all this happened, and you needed her–"

    The Master of Lightning clamped his hands over his mouth of lightning, as Kai had often referred to it as. Zane went from shocked, to confused. Her? Does he mean P.I.X.A.L.?

    To the female droid, he muttered, "Do you know anything about this?"

    "Yes. And I won't tell you. It's a surprise for a reason."

    "But how? We're connected. What he tells you he has to tell me."

    "Not exactly. When you sleep, I'm still awake. I've never needed to rest. He talked to me then, and I used your form to communicate back. I hope you're not upset. You'll really enjoy this."

    "No I'm not upset. A little miffed you guys talked behind me back, but we'll see what this is."

    "Hello-o-o! Earth to Zane! You wanna come see this?" Jay was waving a hand in front of his face.

    "Uh, yes. I am very curious what you two have planned."

    The Blue Ninja's face flashed to one of panic for a moment. "She didn't tell you anything, did she?"

    "No," the Nindroid reassured his friend. "She was very adamant in not telling me. It is a complete mystery."

    Jay looked relieved. "Good. Now, come on!" He ran to entrance to the hall, bouncing up and down.

    When the other Ninja made a move to also follow them, Jay quickly held up a hand, stopping them in their tracks. "No, only Zane right now. You'll see it in a minute...hopefully."    

    As he followed Jay the hallway, Zane couldn't help but ask, "Can you give me a hint?"

    The question was directed at both Jay and P.I.X.A.L., and, coincidentally, both of them replied at the same time.

    "No."   

    He sighed, resigning himself to remain in the dark. He was even more confused when Jay led him to his room. The Blue Ninja opened the door, then glanced back at the Ice Ninja.

    "Uh, stay here. I'll be right back."

    He darted into the room and shut the door behind him. Out of curiosity. Zane tried the handle. Locked.

    "Be patient, Zane. That's always been a strong virtue of yours."

    "Apparently not today."

    It seemed like he waited ages for Jay to return. In the meantime, he talked with P.I.X.A.L., but she refused to tell him what his friend was doing.

    When he heard a loud crash and Jay shout, he shot up from his seated position and glanced at the door. What in Ninjago's name is he doing in there?

    When the Master of Lightning finally did come out, he did it in such a way that continued to prevent Zane from seeing what was inside.

    "Jay, what are you hiding? My patience is running thin."

    The mechanic could barely suppress his smile. He could see P.I.X.AL.'s smile, too, for she did not attempt to hide it.

    Jay cleared his throat, then pretended to fix an imaginary tie. Zane rolled his eyes. He usually enjoyed the Blue Ninja's theatrics, but he was extremely curious what was behind that door and didn't want to stall. But he let Jay continue on with his 'show'.

    "Ladies and gentleman," he started, deepening his voice and imitating a game show host. "I present to you, the wonderful, the beautiful, the gorgeous–"

    "Jay!"

    "...P.I.X.A.L.!"  Jay opened the door, and, true to his word, there stood P.I.X.A.L.

    It was just a shell, she herself wasn't inside. She was grinning like an idiot in Zane's vision, while his jaw dropped. It looked exactly like before she had been scrapped on Chen's island. The silvery hair, the beautiful green eyes, even her old dress was wrapped around it.

    Jay was watching him, no longer trying to hide his grin. He was once again bouncing on the balls of his feet, waiting for the shocked Ninja to speak.

    "It's...she...Jay, I-I can't..."

    "I know!" The Lightning Ninja couldn't hold back his squeal of delight. "P.I.X.A.L. and I have been working on it for ages now, trying to get it just right. Once the body was done, I started slowly sinking her mind into it. She can control it, but her hard drive is still in you, so in order to take full possession of her new body, she needs to be inserted in."

    Zane couldn't think straight. P.I.X.A.L. had her body back. She could be physical again, not an upgrade in his systems. She could be free.

    But...he would miss her. He'd grown used to the long talks they had at night when he couldn't sleep, and loved the little remarks she would make when one of his bothers would do something and make him laugh. He wasn't lying when he said she was a part of him now. He would feel...empty without her constant, comforting presence.

    "It's entirely up to you. I don't have to go."

    "But, P.I.X.A.L.–"

    "No. I'll stay if you still need me. It's up to you."

    The Titanium thought about that for a long while. He knew Jay was studying him, waiting for the go-ahead that would allow him to remove P.I.X.A.L.

    He finally decided on an answer. "I always need you. And I always will. But you deserve your own form, now. We can still be a part of one another, just not literally anymore."

    His female counterpart bowed her head at him, and when she looked up she was smiling again. "Thank you, Zane. A part of me will never leave you, though. It is impossible to completely leave after all that we've been through together. Just as a part of you will never leave me."

    Zane nodded to Jay, and he nodded back, suddenly grim-faced and serious. This would be a delicate process. If P.I.X.A.L.'s hard drive was damaged...

    The Ice Ninja stood perfectly still as Jay gently removed the chip from his processor. After nearly ten minutes of excruciatingly slow work, the Blue Ninja held up the chip in success within the grasp of a tiny pair of tweezers.

    He bounced toward the inanimate shell and carefully inserted it into its processor. After a moment, it gasped, and the green eyes flickered on, glowing with life.

    The two robots stared at each other for a long moment, neither believing what they were seeing. She's in front me...after so long...she's standing right there!

    "Hello, Zane," P.I.X.A.L. said, trying out her new voice box. She sounded the exact same.

    Zane began to grin, and he raced forward and hugged the droid he'd loved for so long. She'd admitted it to him, only a few days ago but it felt like years. He'd finally worked up the courage to reply.

    So, still locked in their embrace, he whispered just that into her ear.

"I love you, too."