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They were walking back from the birch forest in silence, other than the noise of their footsteps crunching against snow or sand. Things had changed, although no one wanted to admit it. They were all reflecting on the past, how far they come, and the secret that they all know now.
"It makes sense," Jay mumbled.
Although he has always been the tallest ninja, Zane seemed smaller now. His arms were wrapped tightly around himself like he was trying to protect himself from something. His eyes were downcast, glued to his own feet. The falcon flew in the air above him, watching the area ahead of them carefully.
"So," Kai tried, breaking the heavy silence. "If you've discovered your true potential, guess you're closer to being the green ninja than the rest of us."
"I guess." Zane shrugged.
"I think you'll look good in green," Cole says, smiling and walking over. He punched Zane's arm lightly but got no response.
"So, if you're a robot, does that mean you don't need to breath air?" Jay asked bluntly and Kai and Cole glared at him.
"I... I don't know, actually." Zane spoke, surprising all of them.
"You held your breath for ten minutes this morning. If you didn't need to breath air, wouldn't you have stayed under longer?"
"You know, being able to hold your breath for ten minutes should've been a red flag, in retrospect." Jay added and Cole elbowed him again.
"Perhaps we should try again," Zane said, and then he fell silent. The others choose to respect that.
Soon, they arrived at the bounty, which was resting in the waters near a wide dock. Once on board, Zane disappeared into an empty room and locked the door behind him. The other three walked to the bedroom they all shared. "For someone who has 'achieved inner peace,' he sure doesn't seem happy." Kai mumbled.
"I wish Sensei was here. He'd know what to do." Jay crossed his arms. "He'd know how to make Zane happy again."
"He just needs space," Cole said. "He'll be back to his own weird self before we know it."
"I hope so."
Hours later and Zane had yet to join them in the room. They were all starting to get worried. They left their room and head to the door where they saw him lock himself in. "Zane?" Cole knocked on the door, but there was no reply. "Zane?" He called again, reaching for the knob and finding the room unlocked. They stepped inside and glanced around. The room was empty.
They shared a concerned glance and began to try each and every single door, the floor boards creaking beneath their footsteps. The lighting on the boat was as dim as their moods, and dust clutters the air. Jay called Zane's name over and over, but he never replies. Cole could hear his heart thudding in his ears and, for a moment he thinks, "What if he left?"
They came into the control room where Nya was standing with her ankles crossed, hands fiddling with the controls. When she hears them enter she turned her head to them, smiling, and asked, "Hey guys, what's up?" Before any of them could reply she scanned them with her eyes and followed up with, "And where's Zane? He's not hurt- is he?" Panic sank into her voice at the end of her sentence.
"He's not hurt, he's a robot." Kai said and Jay interrupted.
"Nindroid."
"Wait- what?" Nya's eyes widened and she took her hands off the controls. "A robot?"
"Yeah. He didn't know. We found his father’s workplace- the falcon led us there. He discovered his true potential. Have you seen him since we got back?"
"No, I haven't. Why isn't he with you guys?"
"He's pissed. Locked himself in a room when we got back. We went to check on him and he was gone." Cole stated, crossing his arms.
"How long have you been back- have you checked everywhere?"
"Yeah, except the deck. We've been back for maybe, what, two hours? Maybe three?"
"Let's check the deck, then."
They walked to the deck in silence, thankful that Nya didn't have anything further questions. The falcon was perched on the deck and was watching over it, though when they look to it it ignored their presence. Exactly like none of them wanted, Zane is no where to be seen. Jay's voice quivered lightly when he opened his mouth and asked the question that they were all thinking.
"Do you think he's gone for good?"
"No. He wouldn't abandon us like that." Cole's voice sounded certain.
"But what if he did?"
Suddenly there a loud splash in the water near the bounty and they all rushed to see the source. Zane was wading in the water and his face is blank.
"What the hell are you doing?" Nya demanded. "You scared us all half to death!"
"I-I apologize," He spoke as he climbed up the side of the boat. He was standing with them now, water dripping off of his suit and skin and forming a large puddle on the wooden deck. "I was testing your theory, Jay."
"What theory?"
"I do not need air. I've been underwater for two hours."
Jay started to laugh, almost too hard. Before long, everyone else was too.
///
They're were finally done with a long, long day of training Lloyd at Dareth's dojo, and it had been Zane's night to make dinner. It almost always was, now that he thought about it. He was one of the only ninja who could cook well, if they could cook at all. So the chore usually got pushed onto him, but he did not mind. He liked to cook.
After everyone had finished eating he gathered the plates and wandering into the kitchen to wash them. Another chore he was often given that he really did not mind, despite what Sensei would often say about how they should all share the load. That particular night, Cole followed Zane into the kitchen to help him wash the dishes. Zane had said he could do it himself, but Cole insisted. Zane could tell that this was more than dishes, so he did not reject his help anymore.
Cole refused to look Zane in the eye. Instead, he focused on the simple task at hand. He rubbed the sponge over the white plates with warm soapy water over, and over, and over until they were sparkling. Zane quietly did the same. Before long all the plates are clean, and they began to try them with brown towels. They were about halfway done when Cole stopped working. He set the still-wet plate down on the counter, fingers tightening around the rag.
"Cole? What is wrong?" Zane asked, looking away from the dish in his hands and to the ninja beside him. Cole's Adam's apple bobbed in his throat and his jaw clenched.
"I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now." Cole hesitated and Zane rose an eyebrow.
"And that is..?"
Cole sucked in a deep breath and said something so quickly that Zane could hardly understand him. But he is almost certain Cole asked, "Do nindroids feel love?"
"What do you mean?" Is all Zane could think to ask.
"I mean, do you like.. I don't know, get crushes on people? Or find people attractive?"
"Yes. I think I feel that sort of emotion in basically the same way a normal human would. From what I understand, it's supposed to be confusing. It's supposed to be hard to understand, and frustrating, and difficult to express. It's supposed to put 'butterflies in your stomach," correct?"
Cole nodded and Zane smiled. "Then, yes. I feel love."
"Who.. Who do you love?" Cole asked, and Zane could swear this was the first time he ever saw Cole look nervous about anything.
"Who do you love?" Zane countered, worried about giving a wrong answer. A blush spread across Cole's face in mere seconds.
"You." Cole stated without hesitation. His dark eyes met Zane's icy blue ones.
"I love you too, Cole." Zane smiled and they both stood, frozen, for what felt like forever. Eventually, Cole pulled his eyes away and looked back to the dishes.
"So, does this make us a couple?" He asked careful.
"I suppose so." Zane replied happily. He wrapped one of his hands around Cole's. He can't help but notice how cold Cole's hands are. 'Like ice,' he thought. He found it funny. He was the ninja of ice, not Cole.
They quickly pulled their hands apart as Kai entered the kitchen. "Hurry up and finish the dishes, guys. Sensei said it's lights out in ten minutes."
They both nodded, and went back to drying the plates.
///
He could feel them around him, all surging with energy. It scared him to think that they are based off his design. Nindroids, like him in many ways, but also entirely different. They are not programmed like him, to be human. To have emotion and love in their hearts. They are programmed to obey orders, and kill if necessary. Their eyes glowed bright red and, before any of the ninja could even process what Pixal had said about not being alone, they are surrounded.
All too quickly Zane is separated from the group of his friends, who are all fighting their own fights. He fell to the ground under Garmadon's monastery with a loud clank. A nindroid wrapped it hand around his throat and ripped out his voice box. Zane tried to pull himself away but a group was behind him, keeping him from escaping. A hand held his face steady, and when he tried to rip himself away a section of his facial covering tore away. The cloth from his suit it clawed at and pulled away and a nindroid tried to force its way into his power source.
Lloyd jumped down and flung all the enemies away, but not before one of them could stab a dagger through Zane's metal interior, and begin to cut through the wire that connects his power source to the rest of his body. Lloyd looks down to him, eyes wide with panic.
"Zane- can you walk?" He asked.
Zane winced and slowly pushed himself back up. He nodded as he stood. They quickly made their way up to join the other ninja, Zane limping by Lloyd's side.
"We need to get out of here," Jay shouted.
Zane couldn't tell who it was because his mind is so clouded, but he heard someone say they had a plan. He followed them into the waterwheel and helped best he could to get them going. Most of what happened between then and when they boarded the train is a blur to him. Nothing started to stick till he had mended himself to the best of his ability in a moving train. He had fixed himself well enough for the moment. He vaguely remembered Pixal saying she could repair him once they stopped.
Cole start next to him, the other ninja were on the other side of the car. Cole looked him over, taking note of the hole in his throat and his cut wires.
"You alright?"
Zane could only nod his head gently. Cole frowned.
"Sorry we couldn't get to you faster." He wrapped his hand around Zane's and rested his head on his shoulder. Zane squeezed his hand.
"It'll be okay though. I love you." Cole smiled, and even though Zane could not really reply, he could see him say 'I love you,' in his eyes.
They sat there together for a long time as the car bumped around. Then Kai walked over and they tore their hands apart. They hadn't told anyone of their relationship yet, though Zane could sense that Sensei Wu already knew. Cole stood up when Kai came over.
"We are almost to the city, everyone's gotta hide," Kai spoke. "Ninja searches."
Cole and Zane both nodded and spilt up to hide.
Later, Zane sat with Pixal as she worked to fix the damage the nindroids had done. She seemed confused when he would flinch away or groan lightly. At one point, when she was trying to fix the metal on his throat after she inserted a new voice box, he suddenly pulled himself away and put a hand over the hole.
"Why do you keep doing that?" She asked.
"Keeping doing what?"
"Why do you pull away? You are a nindroid. You do not feel pain. There is no reason for you to flinch."
"I do feel pain." Zane noticed his voice was horribly raspy. Pixal must not have finished fixing it.
"Why would Doctor Julien program that into you? It makes no sense. It is only a weakness." She stated flatly.
He shrugged. "I suppose my father thought it would make me more human." Pixal nodded.
"Just hold still."
///
The people who were out of Chen's competition were all chained now, and being lead down a seemingly endless hall. Cole wondered for a moment why, but his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.
"I don't know, Pixal," Is all he heard. Then, his started started to race and its loud beating drowned out any other noise.
That was him. It had to be. It had to be Zane.
Before he could stop himself, Cole had walked out of the line and to the wooden door that was to the side of the hall.
"Zane?" His voice came out shakily. He wanted it to be Zane. Hell, he needed it to be Zane.
The soldier in the front of the line noticed the hold up and asked what was going on. Cole could not reply, but Karlof covered for him.
Cole wasn't sure what to think when there was no reply. His breath caught in his throat, and he felt like he was going to be sick, or maybe he'd cry. Maybe both. His eyes stayed on the door for a moment, then he sighed and began to go away.
"Hello..?" The voice was different than it used to be, that much was painfully obvious. But somehow Cole knew it was Zane's. He looked back to the door and saw a prisoner that had not been standing there before.
It's like the person he used to know, but also entirely different. His skin is stripped of any human color. Instead, it is shiny and metallic, like what used to hide under the peach outer layer. His eyes aren't just a sharp blue, they're glowing. His face is the same, but more defined. As if it were possible, Zane looked older. Every bit of him is fresh and new, but Cole prays that he is the same as he used to be.
"Zane," Cole rasps out. "Is that you?" He is more thankful than he ever has been before when Zane nods his head. But the android doesn't say anything, and Cole's worst fear became realized.
"Did they," Cole mumbles. "Did they wipe your memory? Can nindroids have their memories stolen?"
Panic bubbled up in his throat and his eyes widened. He could barely hear it when Karlof faked an obnoxiously loud cough.
"While we can have our memories wiped," Zane began. "My memories are very much in tact." Then, Zane smiled. "I've missed you, Cole."
"Oh, oh god. I've missed you too."
They share a glance that says everything they can't say here, and that they can't say now.
I love you.
Karlof pulled on Cole's chain and distracted him from Zane.
"Hurry up," Karlof grunts from between his teeth. He was on one knee and was pretending to tie his shoe slowly. Cole nodded.
"Zane, I have to go. But I'll be back, promise. We are gonna bust you out of here, you can count on it."
"The others are here as well?" He questioned, and Cole nodded in reply.
"Yeah. I'll send them a message, then we will be outta here."
Loud footsteps approached them, the guard stopping his way back to the end of the line. He is mumbling something along the lines of, "How can it take this long to tie a goddamn shoe?"
"I'll see you later," Zane spoke quickly. Cole nodded and stepped back into line.
Once the guard arrived Cole was back in place and Karlof was standing.
"There. Shoe is tied now." He said to the guard, who turned and walked back to the front of the line.
"Thanks, Karlof," Cole spoke once the guard was gone. Karlof turned and smiled at him, bowing his head lightly.
"Karlof welcome. Wouldn't want to have guard interrupt reunion of a man and his lover."
Cole felt his jaw drop, and Karlof turned his head to the front of the line. Despite being in shock, Cole did not dare hold up the line again. As they began to walk again, he began to think that Karlof was a lot smarter than his manner of speaking made any of them think he was.
///
"You know, Sensei Wu used to say, 'Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today.'" Cole's eyes were glued out the window of the bounty as he spoke. Zane was, as he was most nights, preparing dinner.
"Yes, he did," Zane replied. "What relevance does that have now?"
"I mean, I think we should do it."
"That's still incredibly vague, Cole."
Cole sighed loudly. "I mean, I think it's time to tell the others." Zane rose an eyebrow. "That we are dating," Cole finished.
Zane set down the knife he was cutting chives with. "Are you certain?" He turned to Cole.
"Yeah. I mean, why not? I think they deserve to know, I guess. We are a team. We shouldn't really be keeping secrets, especially one like this."
"I supposed that makes sense," Zane spoke, during back to his meal preparation. "Shall we tell them tonight, then?"
"Yeah," Cole said, eyes bright. "Yeah, let's do this."
The dining room was cold while Cole set the table in silence. Sometime we wondered how Zane didn't mind getting stuck with all the chores. It used to be in their code that the newest member got stuck with most of the chores, but Nya had almost none. Cole liked that Zane always cooked, though, because, while Cole was not exactly a good cook, Zane always let him help. Zane had taught him a lot of things in their time together, and most of those were taught in the kitchen, even if they weren't about food.
The table was all set, and Cole was headed back into the kitchen when Nya arrived.
"Hey," She said.
"Hey," Cole replied. He turned to her. Part of him always felt vaguely nervous around her now, considering she could blast him with water and destroy him forever. But she wasn't a threat to him, not really. They were teammates, and she wouldn't hurt him. He hoped.
"We were wondering when dinner would be ready. Kai's complaining about being hungry," She smiled.
"Ten minutes," Zane called from the kitchen.
"Alright, I'll go tell the others," She said, turning back to the door. "See you in a few."
Soon, Nya and the others came back to the dining room. They all sat in their normal spots, and Zane entered the room for just a minute to set bowls of cheese, chives, and crumbled bit of bacon in the center of the table. He put silver spoons in each bowl, and then disappeared again. When we came back he was holding several bowls of soup, which he sat in front of each ninja. First Lloyd, Sensei Wu, Kai and Jay. He came back with another round and set the bowls in front of Nya, Cole, Misako and then one where he would sit.
They all ate in silence, and Cole was begging for someone to say something. But instead, he was alone with his thoughts. Thoughts of how bad this could go. And, oh god, he was gonna be sick.
Once everyone was finished, Zane gathered up the plates and took them to the kitchen. Everyone started to stand and head toward the door and Cole watched them with wide eyes. The words he wanted to say were caught in his throat. Zane appeared behind him.
"Are we going to tell them?" Zane asked.
Cole swallowed his fear roughly. "Hey- guys?" The ninja all stopped and turned to him and Zane.
"Yeah?" Kai asked, taking a few steps away from the door and back into the dining room. The other did the same.
"We, uh," Cole turned to Zane who smiled at him encouragingly. "We have something to tell you."
The room was silent for a few moments.
"And that would be..?" Sensei Wu had an eyebrow raised, and his fingers were twisting around his beard.
"We are... Uh," Cole trailed off. He could get the words to come out of his mouth, no matter how hard he tried to force them out. After a few more seconds, he gave up and sighed. He glanced at Zane hopelessly.
"Cole and I are dating." Cole was jealous of how calm he sounded when he said it.
Nya was the first to say anything, and she just simply whispered, "Nice."
Then Kai shuffled his feet and said, "If that's what makes you both happy, then that's that." Sensei Wu did not seemed all that surprised.
"So, does that make you gay?" Jay asked, and Lloyd elbowed him in the side. "What? I'm just curious! Can nindroids even be gay?"
Everyone laughed when Cole rolled his eyes. While everyone smiled and began to start their own conversations, he wrapped his hand around Zane's.
"If loving you makes me gay," Zane said. "Then I guess it's possible for a nindroid to be gay."
"You know, you don't have to call yourself a nindroid. You're just as human as the rest of us."
"You are not human. You're a ghost."
Cole said nothing in reply, he just laughed.
///
"You know, I'm not sure what I expected to happen," Cole said, breaking the silence that he and Zane had been in for what felt like an eternity. "Somewhere along the way I forgot that everyone was mortal."
"Me too," Zane replied quietly. He held a large bouquet of flowers in his hands. A few of the white petals fell from the flowers, and baby's breath cluttered the arrangement. He squatted down and set the bouquet on the freshly dug dirt. His eyes fell on the tombstone.
"Lloyd Garmadon. Green ninja, golden ninja, elemental master of energy, and one of ninjago's saviors. Proof that it's never too late to turn your life around."
Cole glanced around, taking note of all the other tombs that surround the freshest one. He sees Nya and Kai, placed right next to each other. Jay right next to Nya. Misako is next to Lloyd, Sensei Wu beside her. A plaque with Garmadon's name hung on a beautiful tree that provides shade over all of the graves.
If Cole could cry without burning himself, he would be sobbing right now. He looked back to Zane, and he suddenly realized that he shouldn't be crying. He's not the one that's really alone.
Zane is the only one that's still alive. Cole almost found it ironic, how the first of them to 'die' was able to come back fine, rebuild himself better than ever. No one else was that lucky. They were all humans, with bodies that couldn't last forever. Zane was not like them. He was metal, and he could not die and go be with the rest of them, wherever they had gone after death.
Cole thought it was weird that his ghost was still on Ninjago, and how the others went somewhere else. Part of him wanted to go find the other ninja, but the other part wouldn't let him leave his boyfriend alone here.
"What do we do now," Cole asked. It was cold outside, despite how the sun was shining so incredibly brightly. Suddenly, it hits him. Zane is the ninja of ice, and the cold is radiating off of him.
"Cole," Zane says, standing up and turning to address him. "There is no reason for you to remain here."
"What do you mean?"
"You should move on, go be with the others," Zane sighed. "I'm sorry but it just... It is not fair to you to have to stay here with me. The others probably miss you."
"I'm not leaving you alone here, Zane."
"In theory, should I remove my power source or shut myself off permanently, I should be able to move on the same as the rest of you. I was human enough to have my memories stolen by Ronin. Sensei said I was human in my heart, so I assume that means I could move on."
"But what if you can't? You're a nindroid, you aren't human. That's that! What if nindroids can move on like humans?"
"We'll never know if we never try, Cole. The other need us, but if I can't make it, they still need you."
"Zane, no. This is a bad idea," Cole spoke as he watch Zane open up the panel in his chest. His fingers started to pull at some of the wires. He had removed almost all of them, except one.
"Zane."
"Cole. You have to trust me, ok?" Cole shook his head no, his throat tightening. "Cole. Trust me. Please."
"What happened to, 'a ninja never quits?' Why are giving that up now?"
"A ninja can't fight alone. The others have passed on their elemental powers to the next generation of ninja. It only makes sense for us to do the same."
Cole couldn't think of anything to say back. He looked to the ground and listened to the crackle of electricity as Zane simultaneously pulled out his memory chip and his power source. The memory chip had been crushed between his fingers.
Cole wished he could cry.
It took him a couple days to move on. He had not been sure how to approach it, in honesty. But, soon enough, he found himself in a place different than he had ever seen before. And he was greeted by friends. Friends who ran to him a shouted and sang and threw their arms around him.
It wasn't till that moment he realized how much he missed them. But someone was missing from their group. Then, Cole saw Nya's eyes widen. Then Jay's, and then Sensei's, and then everyone. He turned to see what they all saw. A familiar ninja greeted them.
His skin was shiny, and his hair stuck straight up. He was dressed up all in white, and there was a smile on his lips.
"Sorry I'm late.”