Some more changeling AU, just a small bit between Pixal and Cryptor
The hum of computers was unbearable. The tapping on the keyboard even more so. Cryptor looked over at Pixal who kept working, tracking the car Kai was using to hunt down the truck the nindroids were on.
The digiverse was supposed to be the end of it. Cryptor went in there, still unsure if he was doing the smart thing, and didn’t even argue when The Overlord thought he was Zane.
He was supposed to be gone, but the nindroid activity continued.
The team was as tense as ever, even if they pretended they weren’t. Cole and Jay were still fighting--for reasons Cryptor couldn’t fathom since he was starting to guess Cole had a crush on Pixal. Pixel shut herself off when Borg got kidnapped again. Kai wouldn’t stop fretting over Lloyd who was found half dead in a village after what The Overlord did. And all of them still hated Cryptor being here in general.
Pixal was no exception. She wouldn’t even look in his general direction, much less talk to him by this point.
“You sure I shouldn’t go follow Kai?” He finally spoke. Truthfully he was just bored, and he’d take any excuse to leave the tense air behind him.
“Let you wander off on your own? Unlikely.” Pixal’s tone was sharp.
“Right, me helping you all stop The Overlord wasn’t evidence enough.”
“It’s not.” She practically slapped the next few keys before turning to look at him. “When you first came around you kept threatening to go back to him and to stop us. Why should we believe you suddenly changed your mind?”
“You call this sudden?” He stood. “After all the crap that’s been going on? After your Zane apparently keeps aiding the enemy? Why am I the one you don’t trust?”
“Why should we trust you?” She repeated. “Even if you don’t have the motive to help The Overlord anymore that doesn’t mean you won’t do something else selfish.”
“If I wanted to do something selfish I still would have left a while ago.”
“You think that proves anything? You were programmed to serve him. And I should know because I wrote the code myself!”
After Pixal shouted the last word the room fell silent. She kept her shoulders up, her glare sharp, but bit by bit it softened.
“That why you won’t look me in the eye?” Cryptor crossed his arms. “Just reminds you that you used to do his dirty work too?”
“Shut up.” She turned back to the computer. “I was hacked into. That wasn’t my purpose. I am meant to assist.”
“Assist who?”
She whirled back around. “Shut up!”
“Pixal.” Cryptor sighed when he realized how soft his voice sounded. He ran a hand down his face. “You say you programmed that into me, but that program hasn’t triggered since Zane and I swapped places.”
She blinked. “What?”
“It hasn’t triggered. Instead I’m riddled with whatever Zane’s directives were supposed to be.”
She scoffed. “Is that the only reason you’re helping us?”
“I don’t know.” He looked away, arms crossed again. “Most of it’s just a matter of ‘what else am I supposed to do?’ I can’t go back, even if I wanted to, they don’t believe I’m Cryptor. And even if I helped him what would I get out of it? That wasn’t something I even considered before but now it’s all I can think about.”
He growled, hating that he was confessing all of this. “And yeah, maybe when this is over with I’ll just ditch. Not like you guys like having me around. But until then I’m just as much of a target as the rest of you.”
Another scoff. “So you are selfish.”
“So what if I am!” Cryptor clutched at the air. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend? Isn’t that some stupid turn of phrase humans have? Can’t you at least all believe I don’t have the motivation to hurt you anymore? Unlike the one who’s supposed to be your friend and keeps on betraying you?”
“You don’t know Zane.” Pixal tried to turn back to the computer.
“And you do?” Cryptor grabbed her shoulder to make her face him. “You barely knew him for two days.”
She shrugged him off. “He’s probably being manipulated by--”
“Oh, wake up, Pixal. He chose to take my place. He did it just to give himself and upgrade. And you call me selfish?”
Pixal looked at the ground, obviously having nothing to say to that. Cryptor sighed and took a step back.
“Look, I don’t--”
Kai’s voice came over the comm, though it was nothing but panicked screaming.
“Kai?” Pixal returned to the computer, trying to help with whatever was going on.
Cryptor just threw up his hands and went to leave the room. She wasn’t going to let him go help and he wasn’t about to listen to whatever disaster this mission was turning into. Maybe he’d just go check on Lloyd.
