Thanks to everyone who has replied to my question. Answers were pretty much tied, so I've taken RubyRed883 's as tiebreaker (as the planned special was for her challenge). This means I will continue with the main story and just add an extra chapter for St Patrick's Day when we get there.

And I'll better hurry up, because TheRosalie is translating this book into Polish, and she has finally caught up with me 👏.

This chapter is PIXAL's POV, which was very difficult to write, especially as her character has changed quite a lot between season 3 (the flashback is a direct continuation from chapter 36) and 'present time' (equivalent to SoG). So it's pretty short and pretty bad, but it's still important!

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Chapter 39 (PIXAL)

Six years ago (October 2012), three days after the funeral, Borg Industries (this continues the FB from chapter 36)

At our very first meeting, I informed Zane that his system was outdated and incompatible with ours. And while it was rather arrogant of me to judge him only by his hardware – back then, I did not understand how much more than just technology he was, and still is – my analysis was not wrong:

When he shared his power source with me some of my own components began to malfunction, and they eventually had to be upgraded during my latest service two days ago.

Together with Mr Borg, however, I decided not to have my AIE-ES chip [*] replaced but to rather have the ES module removed from my system altogether.

Consequently, I am currently very much overwhelmed by all the new feelings and emotions I have been experiencing – especially in light of recent events – and when I inform Nya and Kai that 'we have a surprise for them as well,' I am barely able to conceal my excitement.

It is unlikely though, that either of them realises. Kai's attention is entirely directed at his ailing sister, who is resting on the floor against the glass wall.

Having returned a forced weak smile, Nya has now closed her eyes again and is focused on taking slow deep breaths.

I continue to monitor her vital signs – pulse rate and blood pressure are slowly increasing but still not within the normal range – as I send a message to Mr Borg's terminal, requesting him and the two other Ninja to meet us in the staff room before we visit his private research lab.

At the same time, I connect to the elevator's control unit to redirect the cabin to our new destination and alter the speed settings to a more gentle pace, before I eventually give instructions to restart the lift.

During my time as Mr Borg's PA, I have observed that most visitors are more comfortable with me operating the lift by pushing the physical buttons, even though doing it remotely is a far more effective way.

The Ninja, however, have never required me to hide my robotic nature or abilities in from them. Right from our first meeting, they have not only accepted but welcomed me exactly the way I am.

I am therefore quite optimistic that they will even more than welcome the surprise that we have for them.

Present day (December 23rd 2018), Temple of Airjitzu

Not many words are spoken during our drive back to the Temple. As we are driving through the empty desert, Zane has even activated the van's autopilot and is silently watching the cloudless sky through his window while I am, equally quietly, staring ahead in the distance.

While it may appear that we would be at odds with or have nothing to say to each other, nothing could be further from the truth.

Following our successful mission - to do the team's Christmas food shopping - Zane and I are simply enjoying some moments of peace and quiet together before we spend the undoubtedly chaotic and noisy holidays with our friends and extended family.

A much more pleasant type of noise than the shopping centre for sure though. Our life at the Temple can often only be described as mayhem, yet I would not trade my honorary family and the last six years with them for anything in Ninjago. Although I have recently started to feel that helping take care of our nieces and nephews is not really enough for me anymore.

And having had the pleasure of watching him interact with Abby, Luke and Sylvie, I know that Zane would make a wonderful father. Albeit, he seems content in his role as the children's uncle, for now at least.

I have therefore avoided mentioning it to him so far.

Interestingly, many people wrongly believe that we automatically know everything about each other. Sure, we have a shared cloud drive where we can immediately exchange critical information – mostly those related to our missions – with the other, but we both also have our own local, private, data storage. This not only allows us to select what kind of data we want to share with the other, but also how.

It may not be the most effective way, but I have found that a conversation often is the far more enjoyable one – especially when having it with Zane.

After all, we are not just technology, but we have our own opinions and personalities.

For a long time, my father had completely neglected this aspect of artificial intelligence. He even had his creations equipped with an Emotion Suppressor module. It took an seemingly outdated droid to open his – and my – eyes.

"Jay must have already arrived," Zane's gentle voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I turn my head to look outside the window on his side and indeed, I can see a shimmering deep blue dragon circling over the floating island.

Adjusting my focus, I find Abby sitting in front of her father, they appear to be having either screaming contest or a conversation with someone on the temple grounds. Based on their personalities, both options are equally probable.

"This will be a very special Christmas for Abby," I note. "The first one she gets to spend with both her parents."

"And not to forget two sets of grandparents," Zane reminds me. He chuckles. "She will be well spoiled, even more than usually."

Of course, I am well aware that our families – my father, Cole's dad Lou, Ray and Maya as well as Ed and Edna – will all join us tomorrow, plus a few of our closest friends and allies. After all, we have just purchased enough food to feed all of Jamanakai Village over the holidays. 

Yet, I have so far managed to avoid thinking about the prospect of interacting with Jay's parents. While I remember the Walkers as a kind, affectionate couple, our only encounter so far has not been under the best circumstances.

Over the last few years, I have learned to mess neither with wishes nor with time, yet I still wish I would have done things differently back then - even though I did not truly understand the concept of relationships and emotions at that time, I should have known better than to reveal other people's secrets. An obvious error in my programming that has long been fixed.

And much to my relief, I have reason to believe that Nya and Jay's relationship has finally been fixed as well. And this time, I am keeping their secret.

"Are you alright, my dear?" Again, it's Zane's gentle, albeit concerned, voice that brings me back to the present. 

"I am fine." I assure him, giving him a little smile. "And I am very happy for them." Before he can draw any right conclusions I quickly add, "For Nya and Abby, I mean."

"Yes, Nya has been so much happier these past few weeks," Zane agrees. "And while all of us have always done our best to support them, we have never achieved – nor have we even tried – to replace Abby's father."

"I hadn't known Jay too well before he left, but even I am not surprised how quickly he and Abby have bonded," I note. "They are very much alike."

It is no wonder that Nya sometimes got upset when Abby was acting or looking at her in a certain way.

"It is not only their appearances and personalities that match," Zane reminds me. He points at the Lightning Dragon zooming above us. "Do you notice anything special about it?"

Again, I redirect my sensors onto the dragon and perform a quick analyse of its appearance and flight pattern. Unsurprisingly, the electric beast is more slender and faster that my teammates' elemental summons, but I also detect a slight instability in its movements, similar to an aircraft experiencing light turbulences.

"Jay appears to be in need of more flight practice," I conclude, much to Zane's amusement.

"No, he isn't," he shakes his head, grinning. "Jay's a natural pilot – between the four of us original Ninja, he was by far the best dragon rider, and he was extremely skilled piloting the Storm Fighter. No matter how much he is out of practice as a Ninja, Jay would never fly like that."

"You mean..." I gasp.

"That is Abby in control of the dragon, yes," Zane confirms. "I have already noticed that her powers have been getting much stronger lately, ever since Jay has been part of her life."

"Very interesting," I say. "It makes sense, of course, that the current Master of an Element supports their successor in developing their powers, but I was not aware that their simple presence is enough already."

"Neither was I," Zane's expression suddenly darkens. "Or, in fact, anyone from the team. And how should we? None of our predecessors were around when we grew up."

I comfortingly place my hand onto his. "Zane, I ..."

When he turns his head to look at me, I can see the pain in his eyes. "He never asked me or my father for permission – or even just told us – he simply transferred his powers to me and disappeared again."

He inhales audibly. "Of course, I am rather grateful now that he chose me. Otherwise, I would have never met my brother and sisters." He smiles at me, "And, most importantly, I would not have met you, PIXAL."

"I am glad you feel that way." I smile back. "I do too."

"Yet..." He pauses, suddenly looking nervous. And when he finally continues, my CPU skips a little beat. "that... is certainly not the way that I wish to pass on my own powers."

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*Artificial Intelligence Enhancer – Emotion Suppressor (this is canon btw)