Guess who just re-watched Prime Empire (again)? Also I'm not sure if Unagami actually knows any of the ninja by name or not? I'm going with 'no' in this story but if I'm wrong, I don't know….becoming real scrambled their memory a bit and they forgot all of the ninja's names. Bam, fixed it.

Also some general house rules here, I HC Unagami as non-binary, so I write them with they/them pronouns, and also I kinda HC that their appearance changes based on how they feel. Hope this makes the story a bit more clear for you. On with the fic!

"You know, you're going to have to apologize to everyone eventually" Milton told his computer child some weeks after the Prime Empire mess had nearly been completely cleaned up.

"Apologize?" they questioned, but it wasn't the sarcasm or sass that people usually used, as if they thought they were in the right. It was just confused, as if they didn't know what he meant by that.

"Well, yes" he replied, "You hurt a lot of people, and it would help if you apologized for it".

"Why?" they asked again in that same genuine voice.

Milton sighed to the heavens as he momentarily regretted what he had gotten himself into by trying to raise a computer as a child. (He still had his lingering moments of doubt now and then about how alive they actually were, especially at strange moments like this when he apparently had to teach them things that were so intrinsic to anyone else). "You turned many people into energy cubes, and took them away from their families" he tried to explain.

Of course they countered defensively right away with a logical response, their child form flickering back to their old tall black skinned avatar, "I have already returned everyone to normal. I fixed it".

"And you did the right thing doing that" he reassured them, and their form stabilized back to the child that he knew, "It's just that…" he floundered, trying to find a way to teach empathy when Unagami had never had a reason to have it before. Kneeling down, he placed his hands on their shoulders (more solid than anyone would think, if you didn't know you would have no reason to think they were anything but a normal child), and tried to explain in a logical way that they would better understand, "Ok. Remember how bad you felt all of those years when I" he swallowed guiltily, "abandoned you?"

They shuddered under his hands at the memories and nodded. "You made a lot of people feel just like that. The people you took into Prime Empire felt scared and alone, just like you did. And their families here in Ninjago felt abandoned."

Realization and a mild horror dawned on the small computer as they began to tie everything together, running in a stream of if Unagami's feelings == Unagami's victims' feelings then… Then what? What was the solution? How could they process? How did they repair this?

Their growing panic did not show in their expression, but Milton knew that they understood his point as their body shifted from smaller to older and back to the middle again. He squeezed their shoulders even as they pixelated in his hand to try and ground them.

"How can I repair this damage I have caused?" they asked him fervently when they were their usual child-self once more.

He smiled gently, proud of his creation for how quickly they learned, and how easily they learned to care for others. He ruffled their hair gently, telling them supportively, "It's easy enough. After all, how is it that we were able to get better?"

They looked up at him from under his hand, replying rationally,"You explained yourself, corrected your mistake, and…" their eyes widened as the logic clicked into place, "you apologized" they concluded with realization.

He took his hand off of their head and moved into a hug. "There you go" he concluded, beaming with pride. They lingered in the hug for a couple of seconds, before Unagami tore away, their posture straightening determinedly. He couldn't help but chuckle at the incongruity of such a somber and serious expression on such a young looking face.

"We must go at once" they stated gravely, "There are many people I must … make amends with".

He stood up, cracked his back, and nodded in agreement. He then suggested, "Why don't we start with the ninja? They seem nice, and maybe they can help us decide what to do next".

Unagami considered his proposal for a moment, but soon nodded and started towards the doors of the pizza place they were currently calling home.

The trip to the monastery felt strangely long to Unagami, despite the fact that they knew from their built-in clock that it only took 15.38 minutes. Contrary to this fact, each second seemed longer than the last as they considered what they were setting out to do. They frowned, fidgeting as they reflected on this strange new occurrence. It had not occurred to them before that they were doing anything wrong from using people to power their portal. After all, it had been necessary in order for them to get answers from their maker, and they had returned everyone in the end. Logistically, there should not have been a problem. But as they considered that their actions could cause others to feel like they had, it made them feel...strange. Not a good strange like when Milton had first taken their hand and told them they were going home. A bad strange that made them shudder and lose focus, as they thought about every single one of those cubed people feeling as horrible as they felt all of those years. And shuddered more as they wondered, then, running everything through their logic parameters:

If (Unagami's abandonment = anger at creator) AND (cubed people's feelings == Unagami's feelings) then previously cubed people = anger at Unagami

It would only seem logical.

By the time they and their father were walking up to the doors of the monastery, Unagami was feeling incredibly small, and had unconsciously shrunk their form down to match. Milton must have noticed this change, for while one of his hands knocked on the large doors, the other squeezed Unagami's reassuringly. They appreciated the gesture. Just that simple contact made them feel more stable, with an almost warmth that they struggled to comprehend but decided to just let go.

Unagami did not recognize the man who opened the door. The old, bearded man had not been in Prime Empire. But, he seemed to recognize them.

"Mr Dyer" he said their father's name as if he recognized him, so they supposed that he had to be connected to the ninja somehow after all, "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Oh" he briefly fidgeted with his worn jacket, "Well, it's got nothing to do with me. This is their adventure" he told the man, standing aside slightly and gesturing to Unagami.

The old ninja seemed surprised at that, for he stepped back slightly, and asked, "Is that...Unagami?" He tried to hide his surprise but they picked up on it nonetheless.

Momentarily they gained confidence, letting go of their father's hand to step forward and proclaim, "I have come to apologize and attempt to make amends".

He stared a moment longer, filling them with an uncertainty that made them nearly lose a grip on their physical form. But he must have realized something, because he turned to a gentle smile, his eyes crinkling with some kind of private amusement that eluded Unagami.

"Of course" he said kindly, opening the door all the way and standing to the side, "Come right in. I'm sure the ninja will be glad to see you".

They walked through the gate, their momentary confidence fading as they considered all of the possible reactions the ninja could have to their appearance, their algorithms whirling away and trying to arrive at conclusions despite not having all of the data necessary. Their mind was filled with incomplete if/thens that spiraled off into more and more unlikely scenarios. By the time they made it to the main courtyard where the old man was calling the previously-training ninja to attention, they were staring frightendly at the ground and fidgeting.

"Who's the kid?" asked one of the ninja in a kind sounding voice- the tall one in black, they registered-and his words helped them regain their focus.

They scanned over each of the ninja, in turn remembering what they knew about them, and attempting to gauge how each ninja could have been feeling towards them at the moment. Most of them were sporting an expression between confusion and amusement, with the exceptions of Jay and Zane, the former of which was turning to his teammates and explaining, "Oh, right, you guys don't know. That's Unagami" Jay paused thoughtfully, cocking his head and scratching at his scalp as he gave Unagami a puzzled look, "Although they seem shorter than I remember".

"That's Unagami?" questioned the one female ninja (at least, they were fairly certain that the ninja was female, the concept of organic beings being different based on sex was still a bit of an obscure one for Unagami) at the same moment the green one asked, "This little kid is the evil supercomputer who kidnapped most of Ninjago?" Though both ninja sounded doubtful, the small computer could also detect an underlying anger in the expressions the two showed.

Before they could speak in their own defense, Jay shot back quickly, "ehhh, weeeelll, they were never exactly evil…"

At this point the nindroid chimed in, and Unagami couldn't help but feel a certain relief at that. He would be far more likely to explain things in a way that made sense. "Unagami was simply looking for a way to contact their creator. They didn't understand what they were doing at the time".

"That is correct," agreed Unagami, speaking up for themself for the first time in this conversation.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't exactly make what they did ok" retorted the red ninja angrily, standing with his arms tightly crossed and staring at Unagami with the least amount of trust out of all of the ninja.

"I understand this, and I have come here to apologize" they told the group somberly, and all of the ninja became quiet at their admission, all staring at them with various degrees of shock. When it seemed there would be no interruption, they continued, "I did many things that were wrong, and I have come to understand recently that merely fixing the physical damage is not enough to properly make amends". They straightened their posture, looked each ninja in the eye in turn, and gave the group a formal bow. "I am sorry for what my previous actions have caused you all to suffer".

There was a heavy pause, and they feared to look up in case their apology was poorly accepted.

"Well there's a first" commented the green one (the leader, perhaps?), and they tentatively looked up to gauge his reaction. The previous tension in his shoulders had faded as he now looked at the small computer with a relieved and bemused expression that drove out his previous lingering anger, "A villain is actually apologizing".

The tall, kind-sounding ninja walked up to them just as they were straightening out of their apologetic bow, and showed no hesitation in ruffling their hair like their father had just done. It was a gesture they were coming to enjoy, with the kind of protective warmth it filled them with.

"Hey, no problem, lil buddy. We forgive you" he removed his hand, and rested into a casual slouch. When they looked up at his face, he was smiling widely, as were many of the ninja-to some degree. At the group's seemingly ready acceptance, and apparent lack of anger, they felt their previous anxiety leave them, and they turned back to their standard height and appearance.

As they shot up a couple of inches in height to turn back to what they considered normal, all of the ninja stepped back slightly in confusion, Jay speaking for them, "Woah! So they were shorter than I remembered!"

"I did tell you I can look like whatever I want" they explained to him in a lecturing tone, this time missing how most of the ninja's grins turned more smirk-like at the comment. "This form isn't my only one".

Jay laughed nervously, stammering, "Oh, right".

Their desire to lecture him didn't last much longer, since they found they now felt much better seeing the ninja all smiling, and hearing that they had been forgiven. They got the barest of smiles on their own face as they marvelled at just how much better apologizing for everything made them feel.

"Thank you for forgiving me" they said to the ninja, "I am…" they reflected, trying to place a name to how they were feeling before settling on "glad you don't resent me".

"Well, I mean, you did apologize" stated the red ninja matter-of-factly, all of his previous anger apparently completely gone.

They nodded, re-analyzing their position and coming to a new, exciting conclusion. But would the ninja agree with their conclusion? Would they be able to see things the same way that Unagami did? There was only one way to find out. Shyly, uncertain at this new endeavour, they proposed, "I hope with these new amends that I have made, that we could, perhaps...be friends?"

The ninja all looked at each other with surprise, before apparently coming to some sort of silent agreement. The green one stepped forward (so he was the leader), and replied, "As long as you don't plan on causing any more trouble, sure!"

Their smile grew wider at the acceptance of their proposal, and they assured the ninja, "I will not be causing any more trouble. You can trust Unagami".

"You know, I'm sure we can" commented the leader with some surprise.

"Wow!" exclaimed Jay, bouncing excitedly from foot to foot, "We're friends with a living video game, how cool is that?!"

With a gentle, teasing tone, Zane retorted, "You were already friends with a nindroid. Is that not also 'cool'?"

"Er, yeah well" Jay cut himself off, stammering and backtracking his speech (whether for a comfort or a retort Unagami was uncertain). The group laughed at the exchange, and Unagami looked on with wonder. Friends. They had made their first friends in Ninjago. They had been alone for a very long time. None of the other programs of Prime Empire were able to offer any kind of companionship. The NPCs had been unaware of what they were and could not truly understand them, the Red Visors were merely mindless pawns of Unagami's creation, and the rats were horrible company. But now these ninja knew who Unagami was, accepted them as a person, and wanted to be their friend. It was more than they could have ever predicted when trying to escape their digital origins. They needed to do this right.

"Following friendship procedure, then" they reasoned, thinking on all they knew about friendship and how to have it, they turned to the group with a smile and said cordially, "My name is Unagami. It is nice to meet you".

The leader smiled back, "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Lloyd". The ninja all introduced themselves, and Unagami made sure to store away each name as vital data.

"I hope we can all meet up again soon" they told the ninja gratefully. Considering what they had to do, their brow furrowed seriously, and they mentioned regretfully to all of the ninja, "For now, though, there are many others that I hope to make amends with".

Lloyd, Nya, and Zane all nodded to their remark, the latter commenting, "I think that would be a wise choice".

Lloyd chimed in, "If you need any help, your friends will be here to back you up".

"You would do that for Unagami?" they questioned thankfully, eyes glimmering from the kindness the ninja were showing.

" 'Course, short circuit" replied Cole good-humoredly. "We're gonna help our buddies out".

Though they gave him a look at the "short circuit" comment, after taking an extra second to process they realized that it was a familiar nickname for themself. Every second they were a little more amazed by the ready acceptance the ninja had for them. Catching each of the ninja's eyes they told all of them sincerely, "Thank you. I look forward to our future meetings, ninja".

"Yeah, any time kid" he replied.

They waved their goodbyes to the ninja, feeling far far better than they had arriving at the monastery. They met up with their father, who appeared to be having a serious conversation with the older man.

"Well, Unagami," he said to them when he noticed their approach, "Did everything go well?"

They nodded, coming to stand at his side, replying, "Exceptionally well, father. The ninja were very nice".

Now it was Milton's turn to nod, gesturing in the direction of the bearded man, "If they're anything like their sensei, I'm sure they were".

At the reference to the man their father had been having a conversation with, they shot their analytical gaze in the old man's direction. "The ninja's sensei?" they questioned.

The man in question gave them a cordial bow and said, "That's right. I am Sensei Wu. The ninja are my pupils".

"Ah" they replied in understanding, everything making perfect sense. They returned the man's bow, politely responding, "I am Unagami".

Both stood back up, Sensei Wu giving them a kind smile that was much like the one many of the ninja had sported. "Well, Unagami. I hope we'll be seeing more of you. You and your father are more than welcome to visit when you like".

"Thank you, Sensei Wu, I am sure that I will". With that, they took their father's hand and left the monastery - and their new friends- behind them. But they meant what they said. They were certain that they would visit again soon. After all of their amends had been made.

Hope you enjoyed this little story. R&R please!