Ok, so this one is short and a bit of a tearjerker. Just warning you now. Anyway, enjoy! 😉

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Zane's P.O.V.:

Alex, Pixal, Cass and I were in the lab trying to track down Axel. Nya said that she and her family were coming over tomorrow instead of today so that Matt could rest a little more, which actually worked better for us because Alex wasn't feeling that well.

Pixal and I were a little worried about Alex. Ever since this morning he had been glitching and spazzing and every time he did, his chest would hurt. I thought it had something to do his recent encounter with Axel, but that didn't make much sense. He kept insisting that he was fine, but Pixal and I were still concerned.

We were all in the lab trying everything we could to find these guys, but so far we hadn't had any luck. Alex was fiddling around with his powers making snowballs and tiny ice sculptures. I know he was happy to have them back, but I didn't want him to use them too much.

"Alex, you need to take it easy on your powers. It might take a while until they are fully restored." I warned.

"Relax Father, Grandpa Borg said I was fine. Remember?" He said.

"Yes but that was before you faced off against Axel and got your powers back." Pixal said. "Have you been glitching again?"

"Not since this m-morning." He glitched and held his chest. "Ow! N-Never mind."

"Sit down, Let me have a look." I insisted.

Alex nodded and sat down. He opened his hatch and I grabbed a flashlight to examine it. I saw something that I hadn't noticed before. I now realized what was causing him so much discomfort and pain.

"What is it?" Alex noticed the worried look on my face.

"Do not worry Alex, your body is just adjusting to having your powers back." I said. "For now, only try to use them if you have to."

"Ok." He sighed. "Thanks Dad."

"Of course." I said.

I looked at Pixal and frowned. By the look on my face she knew there was something wrong.

"Alex, why don't your dad and I continue searching here and you and Cass can go call around and see if anyone has spotted them." Pixal suggested.

"Good idea." Alex agreed.

He and Cass walked into the other room. Pixal looked really worried now.

"Is something wrong Zane?" She frowned.

"When I examined Alex, I noticed there was a small crack in his power source." I frowned. "At first I guess it was so tiny that not even Borg's scanners could detect it, but since then it has gotten bigger. Not by much yet, but it will continue to get worse."

"Is there a way to fix it?" Pixal asked.

"I... I do not know." I frowned. "Usually when a part is damaged like this you can replace it, but with this part it's not possible. It would be similar to taking a heart out of a human, which would mean..."

"Don't say it." Pixal stopped me. "Is there really nothing we can do?"

"Well by my observations, it only started getting bigger when he got his powers back and he has been using them an awful lot lately."

"So you're saying that if he doesn't use his powers, it won't get any bigger?"

"Theoretically yes, but even so there's a chance that it would only slow it down, not stop it completely." I sighed. "I know we promised to be completely honest with Alex, but this kind of news would crush him. Plus I wanted you to know first."

"Maybe my father can find some kind of adhesive to repair it or he can build a machine or..."

"Pixal." I took her hands. "I promise that we will do everything we can to try and fix this. I promise we're not going to lose our little boy."

"Thank you Zane." She dried her tears. "I still think it's a good idea to call my father and see what he can do."

"Of course." I agreed.

Pixal went into the other room to call Borg. I was pondering how to tell Alex. I really didn't want to give him more bad news after everything he's been through already, but if I didn't he would only get worse.

"Dad?"

Alex walked back into the room with Cass following him. I turned to face them, hoping he couldn't tell something was wrong.

"Alex, have you used your powers since you glitched earlier?" I asked.

"No, why?" He asked.

"Well there's... there's something I needed to tell you. And you are not going to like it." I frowned.

"I think I'll go call some more witnesses." Cass said leaving the room.

"Dad what's going on?" Alex frowned.

"Look, I didn't know how to tell you earlier, but when I was looking at your power source, I saw something that we missed the first time."

"Like a good something or a bad something?" He asked, as if the look on my face didn't give him the answer already.

"I'm afraid it's the second one son." I frowned.

I explained the whole situation and told him what I saw and why he shouldn't use his powers anymore. Surprisingly he didn't seem mad at me for lying to him before, but he looked concerned and sad.

"Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you... do you want to replace me?" I saw the sad look on his face.

"Of course not. Why would you think that?" I asked.

"Well it's just that ever since Axel hit me I've been nothing but a problem and now that I can't use my powers it just doesn't make sense to keep me around." He sighed. "I understand if you want to trade me in for a better model."

It broke my heart to hear him talk like this. Pixal and I would never even think about replacing Alex. He was the best thing that ever happened to us. I know we had been looking after him a lot lately, but we never thought of that being a problem.

"Alex, your mom and I would never replace you." I said. "You are not just some machine, you're family, and families look out for each other no matter what."

"So, you don't want to replace me?" He looked up at me.

"I wouldn't even think of it." I smiled. "Powers or no, you're still my son and I love you."

"I love you too Dad." He hugged me.

"I promise, we'll do everything we can to try and fix this."

"I know but what if we can't?" He frowned. "What happens if it keeps getting bigger?"

I didn't want him to know the real answer, but I had to be honest with him. I couldn't lie to protect his feelings anymore, I had to focus on protecting him instead.

"Well, if the crack were to expand completely, it would deem your power source obsolete which would... shut down your systems permanently." I sighed. Alex had the look of fear in his eyes. "Don't worry Alex, I would never let that happen. We will find a way, I promise."

Alex nodded. I could tell he was still a little upset, but he had every reason to be.

"Will you be ok with not using your powers for a while? That should help you not to glitch so much." I said.

"Ok." He sighed. "I think I'll go help Cass with the phones."

"Alright. If your chest starts hurting again or if you feel a glitch coming on let me know."

He nodded, got up and walked out of the room. Pixal came back with a frown on her face.

"What did your father say?" I asked.

"He said that he will start looking for a way to repair him, but it will take some time." Pixal frowned. "He also said not to get our hopes up."

"I told Alex." I frowned.

"How did he take it?" She asked.

"Not very well, but that's to be expected. We had a talk and I calmed him a little but he still seemed pretty upset."

"Well what are we going to do? We can't just let him..."

"...And we won't." I interrupted. "I said that I wouldn't let anything happen to Alex and I meant it."

"I think I'll go talk to him." Pixal said. "Maybe I can calm him down."

"Maybe just give him a little time to cope with all this." I suggested. "I'm sure it's been a long day for him."

"You're probably right." Pixal said. "I just hope he's gonna be ok."

"Me too." I frowned.

Alex's P.O.V.:

After the talk with my father, I went back with Cass. She knew something was wrong.

"Hey Alex, is everything ok?" She asked. I shook my head. "What is it?"

I opened the hatch in my stomach and showed her my power source. She gasped when she noticed the crack.

"My father thinks it won't get any bigger if I stop using my powers, at least until they find a way to fix it, if there even is a way." I frowned.

"Does it hurt?" She asked.

"It's bearable if I'm not using my powers, but it really hurts when I glitch." I explained. "I don't know if my parents will be able to fix this."

"Maybe my father can do something?" Cass suggested.

"Thank you Cass, but I need to face facts." I sighed. "I have to accept that I'm headed for the scrapyard."

"Alex don't talk like that. I'm sure we can think of something."

"Don't bother, I don't want you to waste your time."

"Alex, you're a ninja and a ninja never quits. You can't just leave your team without an ice elemental, right?"

Cass's comment gave me an idea.

"Cass, can you do me a favor?" I looked up at her.

"Of course, anything."

"Can you take my place on the team?"

"What?!"

"Well you're right. I can't leave my team without an ice ninja, but my powers are too dangerous for me. Maybe if I were to transfer them to you, then you could be the new ice ninja."

"A transfer of elemental power is possible, but it takes a lot of energy. With your current condition your circuits could overload and you'll be..."

"I know, but if I am going down anyway, might as well not leave my team short a ninja." I shrugged.

"It should have been me." Case said under her breath.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"When the guy took the shot, he was aiming for me. If I would've been hit, you wouldn't be going through all of this right now." She frowned. "I'm so sorry Alex, this is all my fault."

"If you were the one that got hit, then I would've had to go the rest of my life without you in it, and that's a life I don't want to live." I put my arm around her. "I don't care how long I have, as long as I get to spend the time I have left with you."

"Thank you Alex." The smile came back on her face. "Just promise me that you'll think things through and see what the options are before you make any decisions, ok?"

"Ok, I can do that." I agreed. "And Cass, no matter what happens, I love you."

"I love you too."

Cass leaned into me and we kissed. Then Cass's phone started ringing.

"I'm sorry, it's my father, I better take this." She said walking into the other room.

I may not know what will happen next, but I knew one thing. I was going to miss Cass the most.