Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
Cyrus Borg was up late again. After all the assistance he had provided in rebuilding Ninjago after the Overlord attack, he was finally able to focus on his own projects.
One of these projects being an assistant who could not just help him get around easier, he only realized the downsides of being at the top of the tallest tower in the city after building it, but also one with the intellect and skill to help him in creation.
He had known it must be possible. If Dr. Julien had been able to create the white ninja while in the middle of an inhospitable frozen forest, why should Borg have trouble in his high tech tower with all the resources in the world? With this in mind, he had refused to give up and spent many a night perfecting his algorithms and trying to figure out how to best replicate the senses his assistant would need.
He was one of the smartest men in New Ninjago City. When he was merely a child he had realized the damage and discomfort the cheap wheelchair his family had been able to afford was causing him. He had set about creating a new one and within a month he had caught the attention of some of the biggest providers of medical equipment in the city who wanted to patent his design. From there, he had been provided with everything he could’ve hoped for to further his skill and knowledge in any area he wanted. He had leapt at every opportunity, the biggest of which was the destruction of Ninjago City. He was now the richest and most well-respected man in Ninjago, and he did not intend to disappoint.
He was already more than nine months into his current project, working another night away in his tower. The last of the janitorial staff had finished up and left a few hours ago, so now the only other workers in the building were a small security team on the lower levels. This meant Cyrus was able to fully concentrate on his newest creation.
Her skeleton was coming along beautifully, and he was sure this time he had wired the artificial nervous system correctly. When he sent the correct signals, he was able to stimulate movement in all her main joints and the sensors he had installed in what would soon become her skin were detecting pressure as accurately as he could’ve hoped.
Even with all this success though, anxiety still balled in his stomach as he went over the circuits that would make up her brain. What he was trying to do… he couldn’t get wrong. If he succeeded, she would be just as sapient as he was and any failure on his part would mean the suffering of a newly created life. Everything had to be perfect, from the smallest circuit to the functionality of her limbs.
He was so engrossed in these thoughts and fears, that he didn’t notice when the shadow descended behind him. Suddenly, he felt scaled hands cover his mouth as he was dragged out of his chair and onto the floor.
A cloaked figure loomed over him, hissing in glee as he struggled.
“Why hello there, I always wanted to meet the greatest mind of our time…” Hissed the snake, his eyes glowing a bright pink and his voice echoing unnaturally.
He glanced up at what Borg had been working on with great interest. “Say, what could this be? Hmmm? Is our dear scientist playing god?”
As he spoke, he straightened his long neck. His cloak slipped back, revealing a white scaled face with purple patterns etched over his head and neck. Cyrus gasped, recognizing Pythor from when he was the biggest threat the city knew. His scales may not be the same dark purple and black they once were, but those eyes had haunted the city for months and he would be a fool not to recognize the last of the anacondrai.
“Oh, don’t look so shocked. I’m not here to hurt you. Not unless I have to, that is.” Pythor said, taking his hand away from Borg’s mouth and standing up, still looming over him with a threatening presence.
Cyrus was aware that now he was technically able to move, it may be a good idea to try and find a way to alert the security crew that should still be present. As his eyes scanned for anything within his reach he could use to defend himself or communicate with the outside world, he realized with a sinking feeling that he had shut off his communicator an hour ago when it kept giving him Chirp notifications from news stations discussing his latest appearance. If he could even reach it to begin with, Pythor would doubtless be able to destroy it before it even had the chance to restart. He cursed himself inwardly. Why hadn’t any alarms went off?
Pythor meanwhile had moved to look over the inventor's newest creation. “Well, this is rather interesting, hmm?” He said ponderingly, bringing Cyrus back into the present.
“Hey, don’t touch her! She’s unfinished!” He blurted, briefly panicked by the fact that Pythor could destroy all of his hard work if he so much as touched the wrong circuit.
Pythor turned, smiling at Cyrus in a way that revealed his wickedly sharp fangs. “Oh, don’t worry. I wouldn’t dare hurt your fine creation. I actually had a proposal for you… from a friend.” His smile only widened when he saw the confusion in Cyrus’s eyes as he tried to think of what the snake could want. Pythor had no power anymore, even with all of Cyrus’s resources what could he do? His fellow serpentine hated him just as much if not more than most humans did. Where could someone as despised as Pythor was have found anything equating to a friend, even by the loosest definition?
“You see, said friend has recently found themselves in a bit of a… predicament. But it gave him the chance to learn quite a lot about you. An interesting person, one who would build their home over the grave of a god. Such a brave proclamation, don’t you think?” Pythor’s smile only widened as Cyrus’s breathing picked up, the temperature seeming to plummet around him.
“Though some may call it foolish, I think it was rather brilliant. Such a grand and symbolic gesture, Really, it would’ve been such an inspiring sign of triumph for decades to come… if only a god could die.”
Cyrus’s eyes widened with realization as all the monitors in the room flickered on at once, bathing him in purple and red. A face loomed on the screens, eyes slitted with malice and hunger.
“I-I won’t help you!” He said, shaking as he realized just what he had welcomed when he built his tower here.
Pythor smiled gleefully along with the face in the monitor, and as one they spoke “Oh, I think you will.”
…
Months later, crimson eyes lit up for the first time. Their world was made up of nothing but the clanging of metal, the flash of sparks, and pain.
Electricity flowed through wires like blood through veins, and sparked across circuits like neurons communicating in the brain. It was all too much for the newly created life, as the very atmosphere around it seemed to press down on its sensors, crushing them.
“This is serial number 0000 recording. Serial number 0001 core processor and electrical check currently in progress.” A voice registered in auditory systems that were still not adjusted for use, so loud it only added to the pain. It could not understand the words, but something caught and cataloged them as such. These were not just sounds, they were important and should be filtered for.
That gave it a reason to focus, to try to see the world in more than just shapes and light. As its eyes aligned with each other and its vision cleared for the first time, it was able to see where the voice seemed to be coming from.
Something inside of it recognized who this was, despite only just coming into existence. This knowledge meant little without context, but it provided instructions. Right now, this is a superior. It had to listen to her.
The droid in front of it was scanning it with her own shining red eyes, registering that it was now able to perceive her. She nodded in approval, its systems were performing well as could be expected if they had already achieved function.
“Processors are responding normally and able to filter appropriately.” She then narrowed her eyes slightly. "Serial number 0001 is not syncing to the database correctly, download has halted at only 43%. Processor seems to be prioritizing critical functions."
Serial number 0001 did not know what that meant, but something about the way they were looking at it felt dangerous. Something was wrong.
"I will have to check for faults. Commencing processor stress test, sequence 05.”
With those words, the pain increased drastically. The new processor could only loop its programs as it tried to discover the source of the pain, but there was nothing it could do as it was overwhelmed. There was so much, too much. Now, the pain itself was being overshadowed by the burning feeling crackling from the stressed processor.
“The core processor is facing critical failure at only level 76. Standby for forced reset.” The voice sounded again, even and calm. That was the last thing it heard before the pain increased one final time and suddenly the darkness claimed it once more, and it sank peacefully back into the comfort of non-existence.
Chapter Text
Zane groaned, reaching up to set his damaged panel back into place. The kids he taught had recently realized it was loose and decided that it was very entertaining to find ways to dislodge it in class. He had experienced most everything from “accidentally” misplaced high-fives as they walked into the class, to a student who snuck up on him and said they had been trying to swat a mosquito.
All in all, he missed fighting Garmadon.
Currently, Zane was heading to the break room where he and the other "teachers" had lunch. He felt a bit wrong calling them teachers, as he had a hard time believing the students were actually learning anything. More often than not, he just felt like a tired and under qualified babysitter.
He didn't like being a teacher. Back when they fought the serpentine near daily and it was hard to believe the war would end Jay had asked what they would want to do if they weren't "badass teen ninja warriors!" As he said. Wu had scolded him for his language, telling him that swearing was a sign of weak linguistic skills, but that hadn't stopped the conversation from continuing.
Kai had said he would return to his blacksmith shop, that's what he always planned. It had been the family shop and that obviously meant a lot to him, so it made sense. The spiky-haired master of fire wasn't often thought of as a responsible young business owner, but that had been his life for years and despite his inability to make the simplest sword he was able to support both him and his sister by making and selling farm equipment.
Nya though? Despite being Kai's sister, she was much different than him in her goals. She wanted to do great things and see the world. To prove to everyone that she was far more capable than they thought possible, an inventor and hero to rival any other. It made sense that she was the mysterious individual who created and piloted the incredibly advanced Samurai X mech, looking back on it now.
Cole, on the other hand, had simply shrugged and said he liked where he was now. He did not wish to change his position in life, and if he couldn't be a ninja anymore he would continue traveling until he ended up where he needed to be. Zane sometimes worried for the Master of Earth, but he was assured as long as the group was together that he would be fine.
Jay had joked that he would have probably died while testing an invention already, but if he hadn't he supposed he would continue creating until that day came. Zane had protested this, as it seemed rather dark for the cheerful and loud Master of Lightning, but he only brushed it off and turned the question back on Zane.
What would Zane do?
Zane hadn't had an answer then. He thought maybe he could be like Kai? Following in the footsteps of his now deceased father and inventing great things? But that wasn't what he was meant to do, he was meant to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. He had to fight for something, without that he had little purpose left.
But when he had been given the opportunity to teach at Wu's new academy, he realized maybe this was a way he could change and use his skills to better the world in different ways? Help people through more than just violence? If he could increase their understanding of the world. If he could help them so that they could one day protect themselves and others with their knowledge wasn't that just as good, if not better?
It had seemed hopeful at first, even when the students proved to be more… unruly than expected. But after only a few semesters of this, he wasn't so sure anymore.
But these were children who deserved help and protection just as much as any other being. It was human to be young and rash, and he could not truly fault them for it. He just wished he knew what to do to get through to them.
Distracted as he was by his own thoughts, Zane barely noticed he had nearly arrived at the break room when Cole spoke from where he was standing by the doorway. He was wearing his normal teacher uniform which was made up of a brown sweater over a white button up and brown pants. Zane assumed he must be coming back from visiting the student vending machines again, as it was already well into their break and he was eating from a bag of chips they normally didn’t stock in the break room.
“Hey, Zane! You’re late today, did everything go alright with class?”
Zane nodded, recalling the mess the students had made with his chemistry supplies. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that the children, who had for the most part been students at the former Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys, knew what made elements the most reactive. He was glad the original school had been shut down, but the fact a school specifically meant to teach children to bully and be villains existed in the first place was concerning to say the least.
“Yes. Today was a chemistry lab so I had more to clean up than normal.” Zane smiled at the previous Master of Earth, who now taught history at Wu’s Academy. He had always gotten along well with Cole, and as much as his job was tiring he did not think he could ever give up the chance to work alongside his friends.
Cole was about to say something in response before getting distracted by loud chatter suddenly coming from behind him in the breakroom. Zane could recognize excited exclamations from the rest of his friends and he and Cole quickly hurried into the room.
“I hope we get approved! Did you hear about what they’ve been saying? Borg is apparently working on his biggest project yet and has been saying that it could really revolutionize how we live in Ninjago!” Jay was waving his hands about with excitement as he spoke. Him and Nya were crowding around a tablet and seemingly watching some sort of announcement. Kai was also present, but he was reclined on the couch with an annoyed expression and his arm folded over his face to shield his eyes from the sunlight. Much like Cole, they were all dressed in what was now their normal wardrobe of semi-professional civilian attire. Kai wore a brown jacket over a white button up, red tie and brown pants. Jay was wearing a white button up as well, but he had a blue striped sweater and blue pants. Nya was the only one who never moved on from her signature red dress and bracelet which acted as a communicator.
Zane had also had to change his regular attire, but he tried to keep some of his element present by wearing a frosty blue sweater and bowtie over his white button up as well khaki pants.
“What’s up?” Cole asked, walking over to the refrigerator to grab a tupperware container of noodles and a plastic wrapped sandwich. Zane was almost certain that at least one of those was Jay’s, but decided against saying anything in favor of waiting for Jay and Nya to explain.
Jay jumped in excitement. “We just sent in a request to bring a group of kids to Borg Industries Tower in a few weeks! They just announced that they are planning to open their doors for tours soon! We could be some of the first people inside!”
“That’s wonderful, though hasn’t the building been operational as a work facility for over a year? It seems odd that they are just opening up now.” Zane said. Jay glared at him briefly, before Nya cut in.
“They probably had to make sure it was safe, and who knows what they’re working on in there? They could have all kinds of classified projects that they needed to hide!”
Zane nodded, accepting her explanation. He had heard a lot about the inventor, both from his friends and the internet databases that he had recently set up so he could access most any information on the fly.
“Will you quiet down already? I have to do my afternoon class soon and I just know those kids are going to eat me alive.” Kai groaned, lifting his arm from his face slightly to glare at them.
Zane smiled kindly at Kai, before grabbing his own lunch from the refrigerator. He sometimes wondered why his father had made him so that he had to eat the same as any human, but he wouldn’t complain about having at least one similarity to his friends. “Yes, I should also be going soon. I need to grade and prepare for my next class. I will see you all tonight.” He said, leaving the room as his friends called their own goodbyes after him.
…
In the week since their application to visit Borg Tower had been submitted, things only seemed to get harder for Zane. He hated to admit it, but as he neared class he started to feel his limbs tense as warnings would go off in his processor. He knew these warnings were false and he did his best to ignore them, but his sensors were on high alert and there didn’t seem to be a switch to turn off his functions intended for self preservation.
So, when he had seen Brad and a few other students whispering amongst themselves and glancing at him in class he could only hope that whatever they had planned wouldn’t delay their lessons too much.
That said, not much could have prepared him for when he walked into class the next day only to be greeted by the feeling of his limbs stuttering and beginning to move without his input. It felt wrong, metal scraping in his joints in a way it would never do under his control. He stumbled, but found he was unable to actually fall back. The students laughed uproariously at his apparent dismay and confusion, yelling out comments and suggestions as they gathered around Brad. The child was smiling smugly at the front of the classroom, holding a sleek black remote.
“This is awesome! I didn’t think it would actually work!” A young girl yelled, pushing to get closer to Brad.
“Yeah, just imagine if we could control all of our teachers with a remote!” Another child added.
Zane felt sick.
He had not wanted to start the day by dancing like a puppet on his desk because of some remote the students had obtained specifically to gain control of him. The very thought was terrible enough that he would normally have thought it too horrible to ever be more than a nightmare. He was a person, not some sort of automated entertainment that could be controlled with the click of a button!
Fortunately, Zane was at least partially right. He was far too advanced to actually be effectively controlled by the gadget. Unfortunately, the stress the remote caused to his system also meant his electrical heart was producing an overload of energy and his processor was screaming at him. Electricity started to visibly flash across his synthetic skin, setting off his sensors even more and causing a painful burning sensation. It felt nauseating, and made it impossible to even try to do anything to stop the students without potentially electrocuting them.
“Please stop this behavior this instant. Any form of harassment of teachers is strictly prohibited in the student handbook!” Zane warned, unable to control the higher register of his voice. He could feel his gyroscope alerting as he got dangerously close to overbalancing and falling off the table, but there was nothing he could do but hope whoever was controlling him knew enough not to send him crashing into the students clustered about.
“Oh my god I’ll be right back! We gotta share this!” One of the students, a small boy with a baseball cap named Tommy, yelled over the laughter of his classmates before rushing out of the room.
“Leaving during class is prohibited without a hall pass!” Zane yelled after the kid, much to the immense amusement of the rest of the class. In the back of his processor he realized it probably didn’t matter at this point, but rules related to safety were always the most important and that was one of them.
After a few more moments of being tortured by the gleeful middle schoolers with nothing but the ability to babble near incoherently, the missing student returned with students from every class on this side of the building. Thankfully, this had also alerted their teachers and both Kai and Cole were close behind.
They looked at Zane in clear horror for a second before jumping into action.
“What’s going on here?” Zane heard Cole demand, his gyroscope now alerting with new and sometimes contradictory numbers constantly.
“Hurry up, Cole! My liquid spirit level is making me significantly less level” He said, not certain what he even really meant but hoping it got the message across.
Thankfully, whatever Cole does seems to work and the signal that had been controlling him finally ceases its transmission.
Zane slumps against his desk, breathing heavily as the feeling of nausea and instability continues. He closes his eyes when the bell sounds, feeling the ground vibrate as children run through the halls. His ears are ringing and his vision is malfunctioning, causing blinding dashes of color. He can sense Kai and Cole are both hovering over him now, but he just keeps his eyes closed and wills his processor and power source to cool down before he has to start a forced shutdown. The heat could damage the delicate circuitry that controlled everything about who he was, and based on the pain present throughout his body he’s pretty sure at least the majority of his sensors were already overloaded by the electrical surges.
After a few minutes of just breathing, his hearing finally starts to tune into the correct frequency. He can hear Kai murmuring quietly to him. Something about Jay and Nya? He isn’t quite sure.
His confusion doesn’t last long as his senses start to recover and he feels the pounding of hurried footsteps and heavy breathing, like multiple people had just run up several flights of stairs.
“Woah, Zane are you ok?” he opened his eyes slightly, to see the worried blue eyes of Jay peering at him. When he saw Zane’s eyes open, he smiled. Suddenly, Nya appeared in his vision, pushing Jay aside so she could get closer. Jay and Nya were the inventors of the group, their knowledge of electrical and mechanical systems far outpacing even Zane’s own knowledge on the subject. If he was damaged and anyone could fix it, it would be them.
“Hey, Zane. Can you hear us? Cole explained what happened. It sounds like you took a lot of stress.” Nya spoke softly, watching him intently. It took him a moment to process the words but when he nodded she let out a sigh of relief before continuing. “Can you speak?”
“I-Yes. My voice seems undamaged.” He said quietly. Truth be told, now that his power source and processor had cooled some and his sensors had a chance to process the data that had overwhelmed them, he was feeling much better. The nausea was nearly gone and although colors still seemed off, he could now fully comprehend what was around him.
Jay and Nya were crouched in front of him, not touching him in case he was still electrified, but looking for any signs that could point to a problem. Both Kai and Cole were now there as well, giving them space but still watching with their own concerned looks.
Jay and Nya both let out a sigh of relief at his words “Ok, that’s good. Can you tell us how you feel now? Is there anything wrong?” Jay asked.
Zane thought for a moment, lifting his arm and flexing his fingers experimentally. “I… am fine. My system was malfunctioning, but it seems to be resolving itself now.”
A great amount of tension in the room broke as he spoke. Kai stepped forward, his face now adorned with a relieved grin. “Wow! You really scared us man! Those kids looked like they did a real number on you. I thought I had it bad when they switched out my hair gel for super glue.” He said, still beaming.
Zane cringed a bit. He took a deep breath to cool off his processor before using his arms to push himself up to his feet. Nya and Jay rushed forward to help steady him, but he brushed them off with a smile.
“Yes, well I am fine now. Lunch only lasts another 30 minutes and I must prepare for my next class.” He said, checking his internal clock.
“Zane, are you sure? That looked pretty rough. Wu can probably fill in if you want to take the rest of the day off?” Cole said, frowning at him.
Zane shook his head, already starting to gather what he would need for this afternoon's class. “It is fine. I am sorry that I interrupted your break, you should all go have lunch. I will join you shortly if I am able.” He continued to work, not seeing his friends worried glances.
Jay was the first to speak. “If you’re sure, but please tell us if you notice anything wrong”
Zane nodded and listened as his friends finally retreated and left him alone to complete his work.
…
When he finally entered the break room, he only had around 15 minutes before students would be returning from recess. Aside from Nya, who was missing, everyone seemed to have settled down and nobody asked him any more questions about his health. He hoped it would stay that way.
He knew he should be willing to talk to his friends, but he really was fine and it was just… It sometimes felt like there was a communication barrier between them. No matter how he spoke, he just couldn’t make them understand what he meant. He was not incapable of much, but this basic ability to be fully understood seemed to elude him.
He wished they could understand each other, but he had found in the past that trying would only make him feel worse in the end.
“Guess what!” Zane saw Kai jump as his sister's excited shout rang out through the room, swearing quietly as he stumbled up from the couch. Jay and Cole also turned to her in surprise from where they had been fighting about whether or not Cole had stolen Jay’s lunch.
“What’s going on? Has the Overlord come back to life and announced he’s running for president?” Kai grumbled, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
Nya swatted him with the letter she was holding “No, of course not! We just got approved for our field trip to Borg Tower! We’re going next week!”
The room erupted into excitement at the news. Even Zane couldn’t help but join in. They were going to Borg Tower, the home of some of the most advanced technology in the world.
…
“They will be visiting within the next few weeks.” She was not looking at him, instead staring into one of the many monitors that lined the wall.
He growled in reply, his voice box crackling.
“Insightful, as always.” She turned to him, her red eyes shining brightly enough to reflect against the thick, silver wires that made up her hair. She crossed her arms in front of herself, leaning back against the desk below the monitor.
“I advise we talk to each other. According to my calculations, we will need to be able to work together for this to be most effective. We do not want to disappoint.”
“You know what happens to those who disappoint.” She finished, not breaking eye contact.
He looked away, growling. His red eyes seared into the floor.
She hummed, turning away again. On the monitor in front of her, images began to play. Security camera footage that was obviously from the earliest models released, accompanied by far crisper computer simulations.
He watched the figures move, heavily pixelated but still clear enough for his systems to recognize. Bright colors flashed, signifying the identities of the individuals being shown.
Red, dodging and then throwing a handful of fire into the face of a serpent.
Blue, lightning crackling in the air around him as he disabled anyone who dared to get in his way with a single touch.
Black, the very earth splitting around him to swallow up what seemed like entire armies of stone soldiers.
White, coating the world with frost that clung to cold-blooded serpents and caused them to stumble and fall, barely able to move as the chill settled into them.
Green was even shown a few times, disabling a small army seeminly all on his own, all the while encircled by a cloud of energy that made his whole being glow.
They were not what they once were, this was a fact. These incredible displays of power were no longer theirs, and their time had long passed. But still, watching their ease of movement and the way they worked together seamlessly, he knew his acquaintance was right. If they were going to be effective, they were going to need to learn. They were going to need to… cooperate.
Subpar performance would not be an option, not when they were against the forces of creation themselves.
Not when failure meant returning to the dark.
Notes:
Happy Saturday to all who celebrate! I can hardly believe it's only been a week.
Once again, thank you to my beta reader BadFeelin for taking the time to read and critique my work. I would not have the confidence to post this without your support.
I wrote this a while ago now, but hopefully it still holds up! Luckily, I'm having way too much fun on the later chapters to overthink it too much.
I hope you've enjoyed, I can barely wait to show you more!
Chapter Text
Cryptor growled to himself, pacing the length of the security room he was currently stationed in. He had been scheduled to meet the ninja in an hour, and no matter how hard his processor worked to resolve it something still felt wrong.
Cryptor had been made to fight. His appearance was based off of the original ninja, thick black cloth covering his head and body, allowing him both stealth and ease of movement. His programming and hardware was made to prioritize fighting ability and reaction time over calculation and data storage. The lens on his chest wasn’t a decoration, but a weapon he could use to damage or destroy from a distance and up-close he had the strength and agility to rival any human. All of this paired with the fact that he had every record of how the ninja fought downloaded into his database from the moment his eyes opened meant he should be more than prepared.
Despite this, his simulations still left him feeling as though something was incomplete.
Cryptor growled, running his metallic hand across the skin of his arm to distract from the ever-present burning. It only served to focus the feeling, distracting his mind even more from his task. He let frustration win, focusing his energy into sending his skin-clad hand into a nearby desk. A terrible crack rang from the impact, and a pile of drawings flew into the air as the lamp that had been on the desk jolted and clattered to the ground.
Cryptor did not like these feelings that raged within him or the pain that always seemed to worsen when they were present, but he did not have the will to care as he felt fire lance through the skin of his hand and his auditory sensors flicker. At times like this, it almost felt better to have a reason to hurt.
He had been assigned to find any weakness he could in the ninja upon their first security scan, and he was to use that information to strategize and carry out their capture before they could leave. He was made to do this, and doubts about his ability meant doubting the Overlord himself. That said, there was just something in the way Pixal had looked at him when he was given the assignment instead of her, something that threatened to drown him. She had always insisted they would be more suited as a team, but he knew that was a lie she told him to make him think she could be trusted.
As much as he knew she wouldn’t dare jeopardize a mission, he also knew she would love to see him fail. She had always been traitorous, not like them. Manipulative with all of her expressions and words and faux kindness. Far too human.
He preferred the Overlord’s burning rage, at least that was honest.
His thoughts seemed to have summoned the droid, as a channel opened and her voice sounded smoothly in his head. It was just as monotone as it had always been, giving him no way to find what she could be hiding in its layers.
"General, you are expected in the lobby to receive our guests. I assume you will be down shortly."
Her words were more of a statement than a question, and Cryptor ground his metal teeth together for a moment.
"Affirmative. I will be ready." He replied.
His time to fret over Pixal was over, now it was time to get to work.
…
Zane had known that Borg was a world leading roboticist, but nothing quite prepared him for just what he would witness that day.
As the early morning sun rose slowly over their lonely mountain, the Academy was filled with a rare excitement. Zane was tasked with counting heads to make sure all students and teachers were where they needed to be and, aside from a few hiccups with the bus rental, they were off only 15 minutes after their scheduled departure time. Zane would usually count this as a failure, but given the circumstances and their track record he could only celebrate it.
The bus was as hectic as one would expect, and Cole claiming the radio system to make announcements didn’t do much to calm the rowdy students. It was going to be a long ride.
When the seemingly endless desert sands finally gave way to the bustling city and Borg Tower appeared before them, Zane couldn’t help but marvel at the incredible work of engineering.
Borg Tower was in the center of New Ninjago City. It had famously been built upon the ruins where the Overlord had been defeated to show that no matter what happened, the city would only rebuild better. The great gray and black structure of metal and glass was shaped a bit like a rocket ship. Its base had angled walls that gave it a wider foundation, and from them sprouted the structure that cut more than 100 stories into the sky. On the very top of the tower was an antennae that rose above a glowing blue light that looked almost like a portal to another world. External elevators zipped up and down it, made of glass to show off the beauty of the city below. If during the day it was this beautiful, he could only imagine what it would look like at night.
Zane was interrupted from his awe as he jolted forward, the world coming to a stop. Next to his seat, Cole stumbled and fell over from where he had stood to make another announcement and Nya swore as a handful of the students screamed in shock. There was a moment of silence as everyone fought to catch their breath, caught off guard by the sudden crash.
Zane pushed a breath of air over his processor to help cool it down, trying to take stock of what had happened. It appeared Nya had gotten distracted by the grandeur of the city as well, and while looking away had crashed into the poor postmans hover truck. Luckily, he couldn’t detect any injuries on the bus or the angry postman aside from a minor scrape on Cole’s forearm that was bleeding.
Zane quickly hurried to stand and retrieve the First Aid kit he had been sure to pack from underneath the seat before hurrying over to Cole. He had a manual on almost every First Aid procedure permanently downloaded in his quick-access memory banks and never passed up an opportunity to practice, even if Cole protested and tried to shoo him off so he could go and help deal with the wreck they had caused.
After he finished disinfecting and bandaging Cole’s arm and they had all apologized to the postman, the students were finally allowed to disembark from the bus. Zane made sure everyone was accounted for as they took the opportunity to gape at the infrastructure around them.
Finally, Wu announced they could simply walk the remainder of the way to Borg Tower. Everyone seemed relieved when they finally set off for the building and left the city’s droids to clear the wreckage.
As they walked through the great spinning doors, Zane checked his internal clock. They were 37 minutes late. It wasn’t great by any means, but he supposed it could have been worse.
“Please halt for standard security scanning.” A low and rasping voice crackled, taking the ninja and their students off guard. Zane looked at where the voice emanated from, his eyes widening when they found the source.
A man dressed in black armor with a hood and mask similar in style to that of their original ninja uniforms stepped forward from his post by the stairs. A metallic headset covered the right side of his face, and red light shone from both a lens in the headset and his visible eye as he scanned the school group. There were hoses and wires attached to his abdomen through holes in his clothes and his entire right arm appeared to be metallic, despite the pitch black skin that coated his face and left hand. It didn’t take long for Zane to realize this could only be one thing, a nindroid just like him.
Before Zane could fully comprehend what was happening, the nindroid had walked up to him and was regarding him with cold eyes.
“Hello. I am Cryptor, official identification 0001. I serve as the Head of Security here at Borg Tower.” The nindroid, Cryptor, said curtly. “Please confirm your identity.”
Zane stared, momentarily unable to look away from the Nindroids glowing red eyes. Cryptor was so different from him but… he could also sense that he was so very similar, and he felt his processor start to whirr and heat up as he suddenly had the urge to impress this robot. First impressions were important, according to the internet.
“I am the White Ninja and the past Elemental Master of Ice. I was created to protect those who cannot protect themselves and I stand for peace, freedom, and courage-”
“He means your name, tin head.” Jay snickered, elbowing Zane in the arm.
Zane blinked. “Oh. I am Zane Julien.”
Cryptor nodded formally. “Welcome, Julien. I require your permission to perform a routine scan for hazardous materials and malware.”
He took a breath, feeling his processor getting too hot again trying to figure out the best course of action. He was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of letting the other view his inner workings, but he could not think of a reason to refuse or even fully understand why he should refuse. Truthfully, he cared about impressing this robot more than he did his privacy. He had never fully understood the value of privacy and secrets, anyway.
Cryptor made a sound not unlike that of someone clearing their throat to gain attention, although with an unnatural crackling quality, pulling Zane back into reality.
“Y-of course! Good. Yes. Permission granted.” Zane stumbled over the words, he could feel the material of his face shifting as it imitated a human blush and he cursed his father. He then felt bad, and apologized internally. He truly appreciated the consideration and craftsmanship that had been put into his form.
Behind him, he thought he could hear Jay muttering something to Nya.
If Cryptor noticed Zane’s awkwardness, he ignored it. His eyes lit up a brighter red and Zane swore he could feel the laser-like technology the nindroid was using slicing through him. Reading everything about him. Something in the back of his processor told him this was dangerous, but he quickly shut out the idea. Cryptor was the security of this building, of course he would want to know more about Zane before he let him in fully. He would probably do this to any unfamiliar nindroid who walked through these doors.
Zane had fallen so deep in thought again that he hardly noticed when the light dimmed and Cryptor’s visible expression seemed to furrow.
“You are not what we expected. Your hardware seems outdated, and your processor far too slow and inefficient for the performance expected from it. Not only that, but it is incompatible with ours in a way I am unable to process. I must also ask, all droids must recharge their batteries, but there is nothing I can detect that matches any known power source. What powers you, Julien?”
Zane’s processor stutters nervously under the calculating gaze Cryptor is leveling at him. “I guess I do not know.” He could not help but agree that his processor was slow at this moment, as he felt he was not able to fully understand the meaning of Cryptor’s words. He took in a long breath, letting the cool and conditioned air rush over it. The word “incompatible” had seemingly gotten stuck in a loop in his processor. What did that mean? That the part wasn’t interchangeable? That they couldn’t communicate code? Or was it a different type of judgment that he could not understand?
Luckily, Zane’s spiraling was cut off as another form appeared behind Cryptor. She had the same glowing red eyes, but her skin was smooth and white with dark red circuitry crossing it, much different from the metal and dark synthetic skin that seemed to make up Cryptor. She also didn't have as much of her form concealed as Cryptor did, wearing no ninja mask or hood and instead having a purple blouse which draped over her right shoulder, leaving a large part of her left chest plate and the entirety of her left arm fully visible. Instead of a hood, thick gray wires coiled and flowed over her scalp, creating the appearance of curly hair that was tied back into a very messy bun. She had a sturdy thickness to her that had not been present in Cryptor, and walked with a focused purpose.
As she stepped forward, Cryptor met her eyes before nodding and stepping back. His eyes met Zane’s once more before he turned and disappeared into a nondescript door marked “STAFF.”
“Hello, I am PIXAL. Cyrus’s Primary Interactive X-ternal Assistant Live-form. My identification is 0000. I apologize for any inconvenience, manners are not as prioritized in our security models. I am also sorry to hear about the traffic accident.”
Cole stepped forward, leaning around Zane to talk to Pixal. “Wow! News travels fast!” He said with a bright smile.
“Yes. Everything in New Ninjago City is fully automated and interconnected. Your antiquated bus should be ready shortly.” Pixal stated. She then turned to Zane. “You are Zane, a droid like me. What does Zane stand for?”
Zane stared back at her, his realistic blue eyes meeting glowing red. He had not yet fully processed his interaction with Cryptor and was quickly finding this to be too much. “I-I stand for peace, freedom, and courage.”
This time, Jay pushed him so hard on the shoulder he nearly fell over. “Zane! She means your name. How do you even get that wrong twice?”
Zane blinked, recovering his balance as Jay stepped back while facepalming dramatically. He could hear Cole failing to hold back laughter and starting to cough instead.
“Oh. I am just Zane, I guess.”
“Interesting.” Pixal blinked, her eyes briefly shining a brighter red. “Borg wishes to speak with the Ninja on the 100th floor. The others can follow me to start the tour.” She turned away and started walking. Nya and Wu hurried to follow her with the students in tow.
Nya looked back with a somewhat tense smile, still following Pixal. She waved her goodbye hurriedly at the ninja as the group rounded a corner and she disappeared.
A moment later, Kai appeared beside Zane. He was panting heavily. “Gah! That door tried to eat me, I barely escaped!” he complained while throwing his arms out, seemingly still out of breath. Zane blinked. He had not noticed his brother’s struggle, but based on his current tone it seemed like they would all know about it soon.
“Come on guys, let's get to the elevators. We have a long way to go.” Cole said, ignoring Kai and gesturing towards the ceiling as he led the way.
Zane glanced back at the doorway Cryptor had disappeared through earlier before following Cole. He thinks he would like to come back here someday soon.
Jay knocked on Zane’s shoulder lightly as he boarded the elevator. Three of the walls were glass, revealing the city as it started to shrink beneath them. “Ooooh look who’s found a girlfriend!” He sang. “I’ve never seen you more absent before, and that’s saying something!”
Zane stared at him in confusion, opening his mouth to respond before Cole cut in. “Aw, lay off him. There’s no way he’s ever seen another nindroid like that before.” He chuckled.
Kai laughed, finally distracted from his apparently traumatic experience with the automatic door. “Yeah, she was hot. Wasn’t she, Zane?” He waggled his eyebrows at the nindroid, only confusing him more.
“Droids tend to have lower body temperatures than humans, Kai.” He explained matter-of-factly, hoping to clear up any confusion.
Much to his dismay, this seemed to only make it worse as Jay broke out into laughter and Cole nearly collapsed as his chest heaved with his own barely pent-up mirth.
“Oh my god, Zane” Kai wheezed, tears in his eyes. “Don’t you have access to the Urban Dictionary or something? Please.”
Zane frowned. “That is not an official source and may contain fabricated information-”
Cole cut him off by putting a hand on his shoulder, the other hand still held by his mouth in case he needed to muffle more laughter. “Zane? Never change.”
"Yeah, definitely listen to Cole. I don't think I'd be able to deal with it if you suddenly started using Urban Dictionary lingo." Jay gasped, still catching his breath from his earlier outburst. Cole and Kai both started laughing again at his words.
Zane was only getting more confused by the minute. He was thankful when the elevator finally chimed, indicating that they had made it to their destination. The sleek silver doors slid open, revealing a wide open office with huge glass windows and machinery and monitors lining each wall. On the far side, a middle-aged spectacled man with short black hair glanced up from a tablet. He was seated behind a large wooden desk which obscured his lower half and was wearing a black turtleneck. When the man saw them his face lit up with a bright smile and he set the tablet aside, giving them his full attention.
This must be the legendary Cyrus Borg.
“I would’ve guessed ninja to sneak in through the window, not use the elevator.” The famous inventor joked. Jay had started to literally shake with excitement, flapping his arms to dispel some of his excess energy at seeing his hero in the flesh.
“Oh my gosh! Are you-? Are you really-?” Jay was barely able to speak. Zane smiled at him, even if Jay could be pushy at times, it was still nice to see just how thrilled his friend was to be here.
“Cyrus Borg? Yes I am! Unfortunately, when my parents gave me a name like that, my future in technology was predetermined.” Cyrus chuckled. He walked out from behind the desk, revealing that he was actually sitting on a chair supported by large, arachnid like legs.
He seemed to notice some of the ninjas shock at this revelation. “Ah, as you likely know I have been disabled all of my life. Hence, my most recent invention!” One of the legs lifted, showing off its independent motion.
“Creepy.” Kai said, before yelping as Jay elbowed him harshly.
Cyrus Borg seemed to ignore the interaction, instead turning to Zane. The nindroid had found himself looking at one of the monitors lining the wall and trying to figure out its purpose, the noise from the inventor’s robotic legs being more than enough to alert him to the man’s position. The nindroid turned to Borg when he heard the mechanical legs approaching him.
“Speaking of, I would like to wish you my deepest condolences, Zane. I heard about your father. Oh, he was such a brilliant mind. He would have fit right in.”
Zane blinked, looking away briefly to lessen the pressure of having to respond. He did not wish to think of his Father’s recent passing, the illness that had been held off by the Overlord’s power finally claiming him shortly after the villain's defeat. He had said he was happy with his life, and he knew that as much as it hurt now Zane could live without him just as he had before. Zane knew that logically his father was right, he had already gone through this once before. But despite how terrible it made him feel, the nindroid still sometimes wished he could turn off his memories and forget all of the pain.
“Thank you. But the loss was inevitable.” Zane answered. Every human died, and it was foolish for him to waste time mourning it now.
“Today maybe, but not tomorrow. Technology is making the impossible possible! The only limit to our potential is that which we don’t dream of.” The inventor answered certainly, his eyes full of passion for something Zane could not see.
Zane was uncertain as to what the man was trying to say, but before he could clarify, he was interrupted by Kai.
“Isn’t this where the Overlord was destroyed? Y’know, that guy who destroyed the city? Whose idea was it to put a corporate headquarters here...”
“Ah what a better way to communicate to evil that we won’t cower to anyone!” Cyrus Borg said, finally turning away from Zane to fully face the rest of the ninja.
The inventor’s eyes trailed over them. “I see, or better yet, I don’t see the Golden Ninja.” He said finally.
“Oh, his hands are a bit full. But we can tell him to stop by when we see him.” Cole answered, obviously a bit annoyed at Lloyd seemingly being favored over the rest of the group again.
“No, no, no, no. I’m glad it’s just you four. I wanted to give you a gift.” Borg said, scuttling over to stand by an object that was hidden in a large, green sheet.
“A gift? Won’t say no to that. It wouldn’t happen to be cake, would it?” Cole asked, hope clear in his voice as the ninja turned to follow Cyrus.
The inventor pressed a button on a panel behind the object. “The future is what we make it.” Said what sounded like a voice recording of Cyrus Borg as the sheet lifted. The revealed object was an approximately 90% life-sized, golden statue. It was on a pedestal and shaped like a man who was standing upright and holding a staff.
“Ha. So no cake.” Cole sighed, voice full of disappointment.
“Oh, wow. A statue. Of yourself.” Kai said blankly.
Jay sprung forward, gesturing wildly. “I know! How cool is that!” He said, giggling with excitement.
Zane was not sure he understood this gift, as it did not seem to have much to do with them or the threats they had faced. But, it was a gift and he did not want to seem rude.
As he stepped up to look at the statue more closely, he saw Cyrus stride up to Kai and lean over, whispering something into his ear with a serious expression. An alarm went off in his processor, there was something off about the man’s expression. He looked almost… scared.
He tuned his hearing to cut out Jay’s happy rambling and Cole’s amused responses and just listened to whatever Kai and the scientist were saying.
“Protect? Protect what?” Kai asked, not even trying to keep his voice down. Zane was pretty sure he would have been able to hear him even without adjusting his hearing.
“You were right, I should never have built here. You must go now, before it's too late. He's always listening.” Cyrus’s voice sounded hurried and strained. His legs clacked as he backed up hurriedly and started moving away from the group.
“Uh, I’m sorry to cut this short. But I have things to invent. I hope you can show yourselves out.” Cyrus Borg said, now loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Ah, ok. Of course.” Cole said, moving to lift the statue off of its pedestal so they can leave. “A little help?” He said, looking over at Kai who was still watching the inventor as he busied himself at his desk.
Together, the four of them hauled the statue onto their shoulders and headed for the elevator. Zane was on one side behind Jay, and Cole and Kai were on the other. It felt heavy, but also oddly unbalanced. It was nothing they couldn’t deal with, but Zane made a note to look into the material properties when they got home.
“Guys, something weird is up with Borg” Kai whispered as they boarded the elevator.
“They’re called artificial limbs, Kai. I know you hate machines but you don’t have to be rude. We’re his guests.” Jay jumped to the defense of the inventor.
“I mean he was acting suspicious, like he was scared. He said we have to protect them with our lives.”
“Them? Who?” Cole asked, glancing back with a concerned look.
“I don’t know, but-” Kai said, but was cut off as the elevator doors closed behind them and Borg’s recorded voice crackled out of the speakers.
“The future is what you make it.” The elevator chimed as Kai jumped, letting go of his part of the statue and glancing back.
Zane could only watch and try to keep his own balance as the weight of the statue suddenly shifted with Kai’s departure. Cole tried to balance it out, but he no longer had super strength and the awkward shape and suddenness of the shift made his hands slip on the smooth material. Jay let go as it started to twist out of his own grasp and Zane was forced to jump back or risk getting injured.
The golden statue crashed into the floor of the elevator with a loud crash, cracking like a great golden egg. Zane’s eyes widened. If it was hollow, how was it that heavy? He gasped and felt the air rush over his processor as his eyes landed on something hidden inside, nearly concealed by the cracked shell.
“Oh great, now look at what you’ve done.” Jay said crossly, glaring at Kai.
“It’s hollow. There’s something inside.” Zane was already kneeling to inspect the statue's interior. It looked like some kind of fabric and as he shifted the wreckage it quickly became obvious what they were looking at.
“Huh. Why would he give us new ninja outfits?” Cole asked from where he had knelt down on the other side of the statue. He grabbed both a red and black pair of the garments and looked at them quizzically. “Guys, I hate to admit it but maybe Kai is onto something.”
“And what exactly are these?” Kai said, metal clinking as he pulled at the wreckage, revealing four oddly shaped golden weapons.
“What’s-?” Jay had started to ask, before suddenly the elevator jolted and threw him into the floor with a grunt. The entire elevator started flashing red as a high-pitched alarm blared
“Warning. Techno Blades detected. Will the assailants please stand down and drop the Techno Blades.”
…
Pixal was growing rather bored as she led the school group on their tour through the building.
The humans had seemed enraptured by the gaming consoles and screens as they walked, at one point stopping to gawk at a computer that based relationship compatibility off of known traits and actions collected mostly from social media. It was not very interesting to her, although she noted the odd look upon Nya's face that lingered after they had left it behind.
They had just reached the assembly line where they were manufacturing Borg’s newest models of civilian hover cars, and she was now talking about the evolution of their manufacturing model and how it could assemble a full vehicle in less than five minutes at full efficiency. The line was somewhat complicated, a large system of conveyors that operated in sync. The conveyors themselves were suspended more than fifty feet in the air, as her lord would not lower himself to follow such things as OSHA requirements and instead went against them in any way he could. Her processor was whirring slowly, unbothered by her current workload as she answered questions and warned them away from the edges. The fall had already scrapped more than one nindroid who had not taken the appropriate care.
“Isn’t this a bit dangerous?” Nya asked her, eyeing the welding equipment at work on a nearby active line before looking pointedly at the inactive equipment hanging above them.
“No. I am synced with the systems, and they are all halted at the moment. They will not resume function until we have moved on.” Pixal answered, immediately resuming her monologue when there were seemingly no more questions.
Finally, she felt a familiar jolt as a notification appeared in her vision. She halted, sending an affirmative response. She may not know why Cryptor had been so outwardly hostile lately, but she could at least trust him to message her for something as important as this. He knew the consequences of failure, she had made sure of it.
Behind her, she heard Nya shuffle to a stop. “Um, Pixal? What was that you were saying err… why have we stopped?”
Pixal turned slowly, her normally emotionless expression now a friendly smile as her eyes glowed. She briefly let herself enjoy the feeling of her processors at work, the way plans and simulations generated themselves with ease. She had been looking forward to this.
“I’m afraid this is where your tour ends.” She said blankly, waiting for her cue. Waiting to finally be able to fulfill part of her true purpose. She did not care what the Overlord said, she would prove her strength to be more than equal to that of any cheap prototypes he could make.
“What do you mean ‘our tour ends?’ We’re in the middle of-!” Nya was drowned out by the blare of alarms as the lights flicked off and the room was drenched in a dim, red light.
Notes:
The early ninja are all just such huge dorks and I love that for them.
As always, thank you for reading! And many thanks to my beta reader, BadFeelin, for all of his support <3
Chapter Text
The first thing that confirmed Cryptor’s suspicions that the day would not go as planned was when the golden ninja didn’t join his team in the lobby. The scanners on the outside of the building had caught them easily, but there was no sign of the golden ninja or even a hint of his power.
Instead, Cryptor was faced with the four original ninja of creation, as well as their Sensei and Samurai X. The expected gaggle of children was also there, although not important to his mission.
Scans showed all of the humans read as rather normal, with the only exception being Wu. The readings were nothing that Cryptor was able to understand, just more indication of the mystical nature of his existence.
Zane however, was most notably not human.
Cryptor did not know how he felt about this nindroid, Zane Julien. His processor, which was predisposed to suspicion, had definitely registered something when he first set eyes on the odd figure.
He was so very human in his form, his skin and hair appeared soft in a way that far surpassed even the craftsmanship of Pixal. His blue eyes did not appear glassy, and the only thing nearing a seam Cryptor could find visually was what looked like an unnaturally straight and thin scar going down the center of his face.
Julien's creation was a far cry from Cryptor's own skeletal appearance, that was certain. Even the patches of synthetic skin Cryptor did have were shiny and stiff in comparison to their inspiration. His creator hadn't even bothered with imitating hair, as it was not useful and would only serve to get in the way of his function.
Looking at Zane felt like electricity crackling over his synthetic skin or warm air against his processor. It was the type of feeling that could only really be uncomfortable and claustrophobic, like walking on the edge of a steep cliff where one wrong move would spell your doom.
Something about it just felt so very wrong to Cryptor. It was illogical. Just how much effort must it have taken to create something so perfectly disguised? There had to have been a reason. What was hidden underneath that bright smile?
In truth, the feeling was not dissimilar to the one that Pixal gave him, which did not bode well. It was bad enough having her on the same side as him, he couldn’t imagine it would be easy to have to fight a similar creation.
He had almost felt relieved when he saw Pixal's notification in his vision. The Overlord apparently wanted to see him, and she would fill in for him while they met.
The Overlord requesting to see you was rarely a good thing, and Cryptor couldn’t imagine it would be now. The fact that the Overlord was calling him away from his mission was an even worse sign. Was it because the Golden Ninja wasn’t here? But Cryptor had no control over that, did he?
It did not matter either way, he would know shortly. For now, he did not have long with this nindroid, and the scan left him with plenty of questions. The power core being the biggest. From his scan he was certain it was not a battery, but it didn’t make sense for the robot to be generating his own power. He was ancient, as was proven by the rest of his parts. There was nothing that could produce power like that today, let alone all those decades ago.
Regrettably, it seemed learning more about this unexplained power source would have to wait.
He was quick to leave when Pixal arrived, not even bothering to say a proper farewell. She would handle them, and he had bigger things to worry about than the feeling of Zane’s eyes on his back as he disappeared into a part of the building restricted from the public. He did not need to be told where the Overlord was, as the information had been sent automatically with the summons.
Likewise, it was unnecessary for Cryptor to notify his Lord of his presence. Electric doors slid open for him as he marched towards the monitoring station. The walls were covered in screens that once would have played security footage or testing data, but now only showed a pair of glowing eyes.
“General.” Cryptor had to fight the urge to flinch back at the voice. It was measured, but the anger that radiated from the screen was impossible to ignore today. He thought he may have seen movement at the edge of his vision, but something told him he shouldn’t look away from the eyes in front of him now. It was very important that he remain focused.
“Someone is plotting against me, I can feel it. The Golden One isn’t even here. Some rat is trying to trick me, and they will pay dearly when I find them.”
“Lord, they can not do anything. Your soldiers are prepared, and the ninja will be heading to the highest level of the tower now. We may not have the golden one, but we will capture the rest today.” Cryptor said. There was definitely something moving in the room now, but he knew it couldn’t be an intruder. The Overlord could see everything in this room, whatever it was was meant to be here. Unfortunately, that fact only served to stress his processor more as he waited for his lord’s response.
“Your confidence had best not be misplaced, General.”
Cryptor felt himself tense as what felt like a thin claw dug into his back, slicing through the material of his uniform and digging in right under what would be considered a shoulder blade and between a pair of ribs. It scratched at his insulated wire and clicked across his processor's housing, not enough to slice but enough to be a warning. It was not an unfamiliar feeling, and it brought up memories from the factory. Not only of his own construction, but also of the deconstruction of those that failed their initialization procedures. Metal claws worked, usually with the help of himself or another robot, to take them apart and sort the pieces to be used again. Sometimes the initialization was a partial success, and the shut off procedure was slow compared to the workers. The nindroid was likely awake, living out one of his biggest fears. He knew the Overlord would know this, the Overlord knew everything.
“Don’t fail me. I can always use more scrap.” The words seemed to echo in his mind, and the presence of the Overlord blinked out a moment later
The claw retreated after a few more seconds, but he could still feel it. He knew the pain was not from damage, as there were no sensors in the metal and wire itself. It was all a creation of his mind, taking pressure readings and telling him in detail just how much danger he was in.
Cryptor slowly turned around. He saw nothing aside from a small spider dancing in its web in the upper corner of the room. It was empty, and there had likely never been anything there at all.
It was just a false reading, a nightmare dragged into the light of day as a warning. Once he calmed down it would all feel fine again. The Overlord was right, failure wasn’t an option and he needed to focus now. He needed to find out where the ninja were and rearrange his plan. He had a traitor to deal with.
First, he had to send out a signal and find the location of the ninja and get a status from Pixal. That was most important now.
He had just started his search when a siren flashed in his mind and he was flooded with alerts.
“The Techno Blades have been located in elevator 7, between floors 90 and 89. Requesting permission to apprehend with necessary force.”
Cryptor ground his teeth. The Overlord was right, this had most definitely not been in the plan.
“Permission granted. Do not hesitate to cause damage.” He ordered, heading out the door.
Lord knows how he was supposed to get control of this situation, but he had no choice. He would simply have to figure it out or die trying.
…
“First you call us pedestrians, and now we’re assailants?” Jay’s complaint could be heard over the alarm, sounding more confused than scared.
Zane took a deep breath. All of the weirdness they had witnessed today had initially seemed like a mystery to discuss once they were out of the surveillance of the city limits, but it was clear now that it was no idle threat. Whatever Borg had been so scared of was not going to let them have the time or freedom to stop it without putting up a fight.
Zane brushed aside all of his questions and rushed over to the elevator controls. They were vulnerable here, and it would be no use to figure out what was going on within this city if they remained trapped. He took the safety of their students seriously and had downloaded any information on what to do in case of emergency. Because of this, he knew the elevators should have an override for most any error. Zane first tried to activate the emergency protocols the elevator was supposed to be equipped with, but nothing happened when the codes were entered. Next, he tried simply establishing any form of communication with the machine, but the readout simply remained a flashing red.
“Nothing is working. Perhaps a malfunction?” He suggested after a moment, although he was aware of the unlikeliness of that being the case. Giving up on the control panel entirely, he instead kneeled down to investigate the seam in the wall that he hoped led to the electronics. Maybe there was a way to access the wires and control the power directly? Or maybe the error could be fixed manually.
“These must be the Techno Blades.” Kai announced from behind him. “If they are, we have to protect them.”
Zane wasn’t having any luck with this course of action either. He could sense that there was power behind this wall, but without his powers or a way to pry it open there was nothing he could do to access it.
“Fine. Have it your way.” The computer spoke, replying to Kai’s statement.
He stood to return to the monitor, hoping it may at least provide easier access to the electronics. But before he could do anything more than touch it, he was flung into the roof of the elevator. Once the shock and pain of his sensors being crushed against the metal cleared enough, it became clear that the entire elevator was now plummeting towards the city below.
“Let the elevator have the Techno Blades, Kai!” Jay screamed. The volume of his screeching by Zane’s head and the sound of metal tearing as the elevator went far faster than what it was designed for was overwhelming. He could feel his auditory module cutting power to lessen the load on his processor, not fully muting the sounds of his friends screaming beside him but still blocking it out enough that he could retain some focus. He gazed out through the glass elevator at the world below that was now looming ever-larger beneath them.
Zane’s processor was trying to calculate their current speed and chances of survival, but his concentration was interrupted as a blur of brown flew into his vision. Kai rocketed past, propelling himself from the ceiling and landing on the floor only to push himself up again with twice the power he had before. There was a great clang of metal bending and a snap when he hit the ceiling again. The roar of the wind was suddenly everywhere, encompassing the world around them.
Zane could feel the power of the wind lessen as Jay whacked against his side, catching his attention and knocking his processor back into focus.
“Ninja go!” Zane yelled along with his friends, silently thanking the FSM that they could use their spinjitzu to overcome the g-forces currently crushing them and the wind whipping by and create a moment of control. Their spinjitzu allowed them to escape onto the top of the elevator through the hatch Kai had broken.
Zane clutched the roof of the elevator as he stopped spinning, looking over the edge for any possible way out.
“There!” He called out above the wind, hoping the other ninja heard him as he prepared to vault for the other elevator they were fast approaching as it headed upwards on a nearby track.
The landing was hard and he could feel his legs bend slightly with the impact, but no permanent damage was done and he was reassured by his friends thudding onto the metal beside him. This elevator was going much slower, giving them a moment to catch their breath.
After a few more seconds, Zane started surveying the situation. His friends seemed unharmed, though Jay looked like he was having one of his “freak outs,” as the others called them.
“Hey! Get over here, we should get in before someone sees us.” Zane refocuses on Kai, who’s now kneeling by the elevator hatch. Cole scrambles over to him before Zane can move, and the metal creaks as they pry it open using the techno blades they had worked so hard to save.
Moments later, they’re gathered in the elevator and hurriedly getting prepared for the doors to open. Thankfully it was empty, but Zane calculates they likely only have seconds before they reach their destination and it would be foolish to think they would not be met with hostility. They are out of practice, having worked as powerless teachers for well over a year now. This lowers the chances of their success exponentially.
That said, as Zane finishes getting dressed and pulls the hood down on his new gi, courtesy of Borg, he can’t help but feel more at home than he has in a long while. The weight of the blade Kai had given him in his hand, the hood concealing his emotions from the enemy, and surrounded by his family. He glanced around himself as he turned to face the door that would soon open, feeling the elevator come to a halt. He wasn’t surprised to see his friends with both determination and excitement shining in their eyes.
The doors slid open, proving Zane’s calculations that they wouldn’t be unchallenged true.
“Ninja, go!” Kai shouted, breaking the silence and sending the world into a blur.
…
Pixal huffed, her arm nearly wrenched back as she used it to block a punch from the girl in red. She was strong, the droid would give her that. Unfortunately for Nya, with the entire facility on Pixal’s side, failure was not even a consideration.
“Nya! We have to focus on protecting the students!” Pixal registered the voice of the elderly man, Master Wu. She could access his history, and knew he could not be underestimated. Currently he was being distracted by one of the automated saws that was reaching for him and the small group of students. He seemed to be using his staff effectively to block and disarm the attacking machines. If she wanted to succeed in her goal, she would have to find a way to disarm him.
Nya fell back to join her master and Pixal let her go. A mechanical arm snapped in front of her, just barely missing Nya in her retreat. She could see them yelling, probably planning an escape or directing the students. She did not care for specifics, but she would need to find a way to either separate or disable them. They were far too dangerous together.
Despite their skill, she still had the advantage. She could communicate with the machines around her and tell them what she needed in real time. The girl and her master may be powerful, but their students were scared and many. Their control over them could crumble within moments, given the right prompting.
Leveling her glowing eyes on the group that was currently holding off an army of manipulators and saws, Pixal willed an arm to pull back. For a hero, a frightened human could be an incredibly predictable trap. She could see a black-haired child panicking, and when they saw the path open for them they ran.
The group was separated as the kid sprinted for the “exit” Pixal had created. Nya and her master were left fending off the machines as the rest of the children thundered after their classmate. Pixal could almost hear the girl in red swearing, nearly being cut in half in her moment of distraction. The old man was instructing her, telling her what to do as he shielded her from an incoming attack.
Then, Nya was away. Wu acted as a distraction as she went to protect the children, who had been unknowingly nearing their own fiery doom in the heat treatment portion of the manufacturing process. As much as Pixal didn’t want to risk the samurai escaping, she was not her priority.
Pixal told the machines to let her pass, walking through the storm of metal and lasers that had now surrounded Wu with ease. He stumbled as one of the mechanical arms swung down, nearly knocking him off of the platform he was on. The elderly man’s staff tumbled from his grasp and off of the ledge as a laser took advantage of this distraction and hit him square in the hand, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.
He should not be underestimated, but in Pixal’s eyes he was still just an old man with a stick against the greatest technology that Ninjago had to offer. As long as she played her part correctly, his loss was as inevitable as the Overlord’s reign.
Pixal knew it would still take a fight to apprehend him, but with the machines ready to obey her every move and a swarm of nindroids arriving at her location in approximately 15 seconds, she was certain she could manage.
She would make sure that after her actions today, nobody would dare to doubt her again.
…
“Not gonna lie, it feels good to be back!” Cole shouted over the clang of metal as Zane vaulted over one of the nindroids that had attacked them when the elevator doors opened. He delivered a kick to their upper back, causing them to fall to the ground as a metallic snap rang out. He did not know if he had disabled them permanently, but there was no time to check. The large room was filled with red-eyed silver and black nindroids, all rushing in to fill the place of any individual they knocked down. They all had such a similar appearance to Cryptor, and for some reason he couldn’t help but feel dread at the idea whenever his weapon collided with an attacker.
But they were not holding back, and Zane couldn’t afford to either. He had to hit hard and move fast to stop himself from being overwhelmed, and he knew the others were in a similar position.
“Sure, but I would prefer it if we had some actual weapons!” Jay shouted in response to Cole, his voice heightened with stress as he fought off the swarm.
“For once, I agree with Jay! These Techno Blades are as good as useless against this, they aren’t even sharp!” Kai agreed, using his blade to bludgeon the nearest nindroids with varying levels of success.
Zane could swear he felt an odd sensation coming from his own blade, almost like whispered words that he could just barely hear. It felt strange, like he couldn’t fully comprehend it. It also didn’t help that his processor was currently far too occupied as he battled his way through the crowd, doing his best not to receive damage.
Even with all of his focus and care, he still felt a painful slash against his arm when he moved just a bit too slow. His eyes widened when he registered the damage moments before another line of red light barely missed his side, instead burning a hole into the plating of another nindroid behind him.
“We have to get out of here! We cannot hold them off much longer!” Zane notified his teammates, finding himself nearly backed up against one of the glass walls that lead to the outside. He spotted Kai not far from him. If they did not get out of this soon, their already improbable chances of escape would be nonexistent.
Zane used his spinjitzu to give himself a moment of space. As he turned, he saw a flash of something outside the window. An idea sparked in his processor, and numbers flashed in his vision as he ran the calculations. It was risky, but as long as his friends had kept up on some training it would be doable. That meant it was their best option, but they had to act fast.
“I do not have time to explain, but I am going to need you to follow me!” Zane made sure he was loud enough that even Cole and Jay, who had been separated from them by a group of nindroids, could hear.
If they were not ready within a few moments, they would not make it.
Zane cast one last look around to ensure that all of his friends were close enough they would be able to use this opportunity. With that, he stepped back towards the large window and let himself be still for a moment too long.
He barely missed the flash of light, just dodging in time for it to crack into the window and cause it to splinter and begin to give way. A burning in his leg told him there was a good chance he had not missed every shot, but he was still functional and he did not intend for that to change anytime soon.
“Now!” Zane yelled, twisting and throwing himself into the window, shards of glass flying all around as the sounds of battle gave way to that of rushing wind.
Zane was worried his friends had not followed him, but he had to push that fear aside for now. Below, the ground was rushing up to meet him and if he did not act fast he would have very little choice but to accept its approach. He reached out, slowing and lurching to the side suddenly as his glove caught onto braided wire rigging. He could feel his shoulder wrench against the socket, but he ignored it in favor of swinging himself over to land with a harsh crash onto the metal scaffolding. Moments later, flashes of color and the platform vibrating painfully alerted him to the arrival of his friends.
The android that had been peacefully cleaning the window turned to them, its small LED eyes flashing red in its rectangular face as it registered the ninja. It lurched towards them with an alarming sound before Cole landed in front of it a moment later and sent it flying off of the platform with a kick.
He would admit it had been a bit of a gamble, but they had all made it. For now they were safe.
“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh-” Jay was repeating, holding an arm over his eyes as he lay where he had fallen onto the platform. “I’m never listening to Zane again. That was terrifying. I am going to die from fear.”
“Apologies. It was the only way out of that situation I could calculate that didn’t have an upwards of 50% chance of resulting in team casualties.” Zane reasoned holding out a hand to Jay to help him up. Jay lifted his arm and glared at him for a moment, muttering something about evil numbers, before finally taking Zane’s hand and joining the rest of them in standing.
Aside from a few minor injuries that could be properly checked later, including Zane’s cuts and laser burns that he could feel gelling over, they had escaped the nindroids unscathed and with all the techno blades accounted for. Now that he was away from all the noise and movement, he felt like he could almost make out the whispering of his blade.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Kai gesturing towards the rigging that the scaffold hung from. “Let’s get down from here. If we have a pair working on each side, we should be able to lower it manually.” Zane nodded, moving over to work with Cole as Kai and Jay got positioned on the opposite side.
He let the readings from his gyro control his speed as his mind drifted back to the blade. Kai was explaining his conversation with Borg earlier, but he felt this was not important to him at the moment. He knew the answer to what the blades could do, he could almost feel it catching on his processor when he recalled the feeling of holding his. It had told him something, he just needed to pay attention.
“But how could the Overlord come back? We all saw Lloyd defeat him.” Zane was distracted by Cole, who must be responding to something Kai or Jay had said.
“Defeated, yes. But we do not truly know if he can be destroyed.” Zane answered before one of the others could, finally voicing a fear they had not known they should have up until today.
A chopping sound filled the air and Zane heard Kai groan in frustration behind him.
“I may not know if the Overlord can be destroyed, but we definitely can be!” The blue ninja yelled, backing up from his own position as a large chopper lowered itself to meet them. It was unmistakably a Borg security system. Zane dropped into a fighting stance and grabbed his Techno Blade in preparation for battle.
As his hand made contact with the blade, suddenly the sticking feeling in his processor gave way and he could feel the code flow freely through his system. It was communicating with him, yes, but it was also interacting with his hard drives and running data. It was an odd feeling that he wasn’t sure he liked, but it did tell him what he needed to do.
Zane could feel the blade’s whispering heighten as he locked eyes on the jet.
“Cole, throw me.” He stated, calculations already in motion.
“Excuse me?”
“Throw me!” Apparently having caught onto the seriousness of the situation, Cole stopped questioning and in a moment Zane was flying at the chopper. He nearly missed it, but was just able to catch the tail before he went plummeting towards the ground once again. Nya was definitely going to need to inspect his shoulder joint later, but for now he was able to pull himself up onto the vehicle, the blade still gripped in his other hand.
He could feel it wobbling dangerously beneath him, his gyro alerting to let him know just how unsteady this was. As he pulled himself higher up on the vehicle and its flight was able to compensate for his weight, he trusted the newfound stability and hauled himself onto his feet. Wielding the techno blade above his head, he felt a surge of power rush through him as he brought it down, a blade of pure energy now illuminating from the previously dull tip.
As it made contact with the chopper, the world burst into light. He could barely hear the sound of Kai exclaiming and the chopper whirring over the code flashing through his brain as bright blue shone in his eyes. He could see what he needed, he could see all of the potential and the options and the changes he could make as he let the code and energy unleash itself over the chopper, overcoming any previous programming it had with ease.
It felt like much longer, but within no more than a second he was in command of the now redesigned chopper.
Zane maneuvered it forward with ease, waving to his friends to hop on. They had transportation, now all they needed was to retrieve Nya, Wu, and their students.
As the other ninja boarded, Zane opened a channel and started scanning for the signal that would be transmitting from Nya’s bracelet. It was possible that she had gotten away already and turned it off to avoid detection, but if she was in danger it would be the quickest way to locate her.
There! A match for her signal.
With one final glance back to make sure his friends were secure, he set off for Nya’s location.
He could only hope they weren't too late.
Notes:
Hello! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
College is starting for me this week, so I want to apologize ahead of time if I miss an upload! My course load shouldn’t stop me from writing, but I do want to prioritize my chapter quality and I'll probably be rather tired the first few weeks of classes. That said, I also have more than a few weeks of chapters written and nearly ready to post so you probably don't have to worry too much about an unexpected hiatus.
If you want to contact me, you can find me at (https://mostlyinconvenient.tumblr.com/). I haven't posted about this story much there, but I am active and willing to answer questions if you have any. That's also where I plan to post my concept art for this au in the future.
As always, thank you so much to BadFeelin for beta reading this chapter! Be sure to check out his podfics if you can.
(Also, I am considering upping the rating but I am not certain if I should. If anyone has any feedback on that or any warnings I may want to add, it would be very appreciated.)
Chapter Text
Zane scanned their surroundings as they hovered near the rooftop that Nya’s signal was coming from. They were where the tower thinned, leaving a wide stone ledge that the tinted glass and metal walls sprouted from. Based on the maps he had downloaded, the walls were separating them from one of the many production lines that was housed within the building.
He heard Kai exclaim something over the sound of the rotors, and a second later his eyes caught on movement near a window.
The window was cracked and Nya was there, helping the younger students climb up behind her and clearing away the shards of broken glass so they wouldn’t be hurt. Behind her the sounds of lasers and heavy equipment rang out, starting to compete with even the sound of the chopper as they drew nearer.
He coordinated with the others, making sure they were all aware of the situation, and began lowering a scaffold from the belly of the vehicle. The other ninja jumped onto it, running to join Nya and help the students board.
Zane breathed a sigh of relief when he counted all of their students, feeling a part of his processor settle down as it let go of a worry it'd held since they had left with Pixal.
“Where’s Master Wu!” He heard Kai yell above the sound of his chopper, instantly causing the relief he had felt to be replaced by a new sense of dread.
It looked like all of the students were safely on the scaffold at least, with Kai and Nya working together to keep them calm. It was not going to be safe here for long, but they couldn't leave just yet. They may have all of their students, but despite the danger they would all agree they couldn't just abandon Wu without a fight.
With Zane piloting and Nya and Kai keeping their students safe, this left Cole and Jay to find and rescue Wu. Just as they were about to slip into the window though, Zane saw a laser blast nearly hit Jay head on. He was only saved by the armor on his gi, which absorbed the blow and sent him falling back.
Cole was now pulling Jay back to the chopper, as the dark forms of security droids began appearing from the dark window. Their eyes were glowing with a fierce red in the darkness and illuminated their metal and synthetic features.
One stepped in front of the group that had now emerged from the window, approaching rapidly.
Zane felt his processor stutter as he recognized the red eye that gleamed up at him, somehow both dull and full of rage all at once. He felt sick. He knew all the robots would be under the Overlord’s control, but seeing it so clearly now… he couldn't seem to comprehend it now that it was in front of him.
He barely registered Nya, having hauled herself up beside him as the others made sure the children were safely boarded and shielded from the approaching nindroids.
“We have to go now, Zane! I don't want to leave him, but Sensei would understand. We just can’t fight off that many! You gotta listen to me!” Her yelling was enough to knock him out of his trance, and in a swift motion they were diving far away from the rooftop and the nindroid army.
…
Cryptor reached the room at last, running along a conveyor belt to the last known location of the girl. He growled when he saw the smashed window leading to the outside. There was little doubt one with training like her would be able to scale the wall easily, even with a group of children slowing her down.
Luckily, it seemed that they had been right in assuming she would lead to the ninja. They reached the window just as the blue and black members of the team were trying to enter, probably to retrieve their now captured sensei.
Cryptor sent a communication out to alert all of the droids of the situation. He got a confirmation from Pixal a moment later, letting him know that she was unable to help herself but would send over a portion of the soldiers who had been summoned to her location.
His own nindroids advanced forward, using their lasers in an attempt to catch the ninja before they could react. The two scrambled back to make their escape, and Cryptor noted the blue one flinching as a flash of red collided with his chestplate.
He didn’t like this, they were too close to escape and the window was only big enough for a couple of his soldiers to get through at once. Cryptor pushed his way to the front, grasping the edge of the window and vaulting over after the ninja. He cursed when he saw the chopper, now under their control and nearly fully boarded and ready for take off.
His pursuit might as well be over before it even began, even with his army surging around him. He looked to the cockpit of the chopper, considering the potential downsides to trying to shoot it down. His thoughts briefly stuttered as he met eyes with the pilot, and he felt his own eye narrow.
It was the nindroid. For a moment, he made contact with those uncomfortably human eyes and he nearly recoiled. There was something very strange about that being and the way its gaze lingered on him, even as lasers trained onto them and prepared to erase the ninja from this world.
Before he could recover his bearings and authorize his soldiers to use any kind of destructive force, the chopper was already a dot on the horizon. There was still a chance for the Overlord to catch them, but Cryptor would have to report he had failed to keep them in the tower.
He sent the signal, preparing himself for the response as he followed his soldiers back into the factory.
The ninja had gotten away, and based on what the Overlord had said earlier he was certain it would be seen as his fault.
Cryptor hadn't even gotten close to the ninja, and Pixal had already captured the son of the first spinjitsu master.
He clutched the skin of his arm, digging into the sensors with metal fingers. It hurt, but not more than it always did and he could not bring himself to care, not when he could already feel the claws digging into his chest.
…
A moment later, Zane was bringing them down beside their now fixed bus which had been parked in front of the building. Apparently, Pixal had not been lying when she told them it was being fixed, though he guessed she never intended for them to reach it.
Despite this, the havoc they had encountered did not seem to be localized to Borg Tower. Around them, the city was full of screaming as people fled their now hostile electronic servants, and he noted that a rather large army of household appliances had now started making its way towards them.
Zane jumped out of the chopper, helping the others protect Nya and the children as they rushed them into the bus. The other ninja stayed outside to continue fending off the machines, but he entered the bus with Nya and Kai to take a final count and make sure nobody had been lost in the chaos. He was relieved to see they had succeeded in protecting all of them, and the worst injuries were a few burns from lasers that would no doubt leave horrible scars, but would ultimately heal.
“Nya you have to get back to the academy as fast as you can!” Kai yelled, hugging his sister from where he stood just inside the door. Zane watched as she hugged back just as tightly, before ruffling her brother's hair and pushing him away.
“Of course, but what about you guys?” She asked, looking past her brother at the battle that was ongoing outside. Kai gave her one more quick hug before stepping away and surveying the city himself. He sighed, stepping back towards the door and pulling out his Techno Blade.
“Look around, we gotta protect the people. It’s what Wu would want us to do.” He said.
Zane nodded in agreement. The way these machines were being reprogrammed for evil may send discomfort through his wires, but they could not leave the innocent citizens to deal with this without help. He had to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, after all.
“Yes, Kai is right. Be careful, Nya. We will contact you as soon as we are able.” Zane said, following Kai as they disembarked from the bus. Nya sighed behind them, turning on the engine and yelling something back to the kids. In a matter of moments, the bus had disappeared into the distance, swerving through panicked pedestrians and angry robots alike.
Now that they were ready to fight, Cole took the lead. He told Zane to take to the skies with Kai and the rest to do what they could and find a vehicle to claim with their own Techno Blades.
With everybody chorusing their agreement, Zane boarded his chopper as Kai jumped onto the back of it. He knew this was far from safe for the red ninja, but he also knew better than to doubt Kai’s ability.
Zane commanded the chopper upwards and in moments they were speeding through the streets. People needed help everywhere in this chaos, but he had to locate those who needed it most and help in the most effective way for everyone right now. His processors had always been good at those types of calculations.
Soon, Kai was yelling at him through comms to let a jet that had been attacking them get closer, wanting to try to jump on and commandeer it for himself. Zane listened, and smiled when he heard Kai’s yells of victory and saw a red jet speed off into the sky above.
“Thanks, Zane! Wanna bet I can take out more Borg jets than you?” Kai said, his jet now invisible behind the clouds.
Zane chuckled. “With my ability, I would find that highly unlikely.”
“Oh, you’re on!” Kai cackled, letting the connection cut out, no doubt so he could get onto destroying some jets.
Zane rolled his eyes and returned to his own goal of protecting civilians. If he gunned for a few more Borg jets than before on his way to do so, he would not admit it.
This continued for a short while, before a crackle sounded in Zane’s ear and Kai’s voice rang out. “Hey guys, I just got a really weird message from Borg. We need to get these Techno Blades out of the city, like, right now.”
“But what about the civilians?”
“What about Sensei Wu?”
Zane and Cole asked at nearly the same time. He could hear what sounded like Kai sighing in exasperation through his comm.
“Look, from what Borg said it sounds like if we don’t get these Techno Blades out of here and figure out how to use them, nobody is getting out of this. I don’t like it any more than you do, trust me.” Kai answered finally, sounding tired again.
Zane was about to reply, but he was cut off by an explosion. His chopper veered dangerously to the side, and his controls were now refusing to respond. He thought he heard sounds of panic through his comm, but he couldn’t be sure. It took all of his concentration to bring his vehicle down onto a piece of road that seemed empty, and he was sent into a spin as the wing clipped an empty vehicle.
When the world stopped moving around him and his surroundings came into focus, he could feel his processor light up with warnings.
The streets were now filled with autonomous droids and vehicles, all converging on him. He could hear Kai’s alarmed voice in his comm again as he thought he caught sight of his red jet overhead, but he doubted there was much they could do against this horde of hostile machines.
He could see the guns of the droids trained on him. If he was not able to get out, he would likely be destroyed or maybe even put under the Overlord’s control, just as Borg’s droids had been.
Zane pushed against the hatch, feeling the damaged metal creaking against him. The entire cockpit felt almost suffocating, or as near as it could be for a nindroid who did not require oxygen. The close quarters were making it feel like the air was too warm, doing nothing to cool his processor even as he took deeper breaths.
He grunted and pushed with all of the strength he could manage, the joint in his arm and his damaged leg protesting. It did not budge.
He wasn’t strong enough. He couldn’t get out.
He let his eyes travel up to Borg tower, visible just beyond the hostile robots. He wondered what could have happened if Borg hadn’t built there, would Cryptor and the other robots still exist? He assumed that they would. Maybe in another world where the Overlord was no longer a threat, they could have been friends.
He couldn’t help but smile at that thought, even with the dire circumstances.
Suddenly, the energy that had been gathering in the droid’s blasters seemed to cease, and their eyes went from a searing red to green.
Zane was confused. Why had they shut off? Had something changed, or did they just realize he was more useful alive?
Then he recognized the golden wings of a dragon, still barely a speck in the sky but nearing quickly. Within moments, the golden ninja landed in front of him, letting his mount dissipate into pure golden energy. The air looked like it was practically glowing around the youngest member of the ninja, in fact.
Zane felt his processor calming down as Lloyd walked over to him and hefted the door of his chopper off with ease.
“Sorry I wasn’t here earlier, it looked like you might need a hand.” Zane couldn’t help but smile at the golden ninja. He and the others had practically raised him, and he was incredibly proud to see the young man he was becoming.
He was about to thank Lloyd, when an odd chill ran up his back.
A voice rumbled through the now still air.
“So, you couldn’t help yourself.” Glowing eyes shine from every monitor within sight. Whether they had shown advertisements or traffic directions, it didn’t matter. They were now just a staring set of eyes, hungry for the power that they could taste.
“The prophesied Golden Ninja, we meet again.” The words dripped with an ancient hatred.
“The Overlord.” Lloyd gasped, stepping forward. “I’ve defeated you once, and I’ll defeat you again!”
“Oh, I don’t want to fight.”
Zane was sure he could feel that voice seeping through his circuits and clogging his processor, digging itself even deeper into his nightmares than it ever had before.
“I just want your power.”
With that the once deactivated droids around them shone red once more, advancing forward despite the golden glow still present in the air.
Zane could feel Lloyd’s power, preparing to defend them, and he put a hand on the younger ninja's shoulder. “No, Lloyd. Something is very wrong here. You can’t use your power.”
“But-!” He started to protest, but Zane ignored him.
“No. Call your dragon, I’ll let the others know what’s going on. We need to leave. Now.”
Lloyd looked like he was about to argue more, but Zane’s gaze must’ve told him just how serious the white ninja was, because he bit it back and called upon his dragon. The beast roared low, sweeping its tail as the ninja mounted and it eyed the robots descending upon them. The moment they were ready, Lloyd set a hand upon its reins and they took off with a bellowing roar that would doubtless cause most enemies to crumble.
Even with the golden dragon, they barely made it out unscathed. Laser blasts surrounded them as they took to the sky, speeding away from Borg Tower and towards the desert that surrounded the fallen city.
Once they were out of direct danger, Zane called the others to fill them in.
If they were going to defeat the Overlord without their sensei, they would need help.
...
Pixal gripped her right arm, letting the feedback from her sensors reassure her. Her left knee was still sending harsh feedback to her processor from where the old man had managed to kick her in their fight, nearly dislocating the joint.
He had put up a fight, and she was glad she had not overestimated him.
The Overlord’s eyes shone over her, and she could almost feel General Cryptor tensing as he stood beside her. He was scared, and she couldn't help the pain and bitterness she felt at the thought. The general had shown his true colors long ago, he did not deserve her pity now. She shouldn't waste a single nibble of her processing power on his traitorous emotions.
Pixal’s eyes traveled up past the screen on the front of the spidery robotic legs where the Overlord now resided. Cyrus Borg, the famous inventor, flopped limply in the seat as the Overlord paced below him. He was once fully organic, but Pixal could see the wires and tubes that were now embedded in the unconscious man's skin. Blood still leaked from where he had been cut open and changed, and his now metal arm clanked whenever it flopped against the armrest.
She assumed he must have been a traitor or a failure. Either way, Pixal felt nothing but an abnormal level of disgust as she watched him flop backwards again. She could smell his blood in her sensors and something about it made her processor tingle uncomfortably, which was odd. It didn't matter though, she was sure he had gotten what was deserved and she had better things to deal with than fidgety sensors.
They were sitting in the main office on the 100th floor of Borg Tower, where the inventor had invited the ninja just hours before. On the other side of the room, she could see the old man she had captured bound to an operating table. He was still unconscious, it seemed, but she was sure that would change soon. She had not hit him hard enough to cause permanent damage.
To her other side, stood one of the mechs they had collected as much of the golden power as they could into. The transference had not been successful, as they did not have enough power for their Lord to regain his physical form. More power was needed, but currently she only saw negative reports on her servers from the scouts that were searching the city. The Golden Ninja had fled, and they had no idea where to look.
This only made her all the more confident that capturing the ninja's sensei had been the right move. Given the right technique, it was no doubt the old man would help them.
She stood to attention, minimizing her distractions as the Overlord finally stopped pacing and came to loom over her and Cryptor. His eyes were focused on them, narrowed dangerously. She could sense his ever-present anger, near deadly as it radiated from him.
She was glad to know such anger would never be focused on her as long as she succeeded, and she did know this rage wasn't focused on her now. No, this rage was reserved for those who dared to defy their creator by being failures.
This rage was focused on Cryptor. The general who had not only lost the ninja, but let them leave without a scratch. It was his purpose to fight and defeat them, and he had already failed.
She was glad she was not a failure now, and she would not become a failure like the general.
Pixal saw General Cryptor flinch as the Overlord focused on him fully, rage seething as he finally spoke.
“I should scrap you. You had the ninja here and you and your entire army failed to even touch them, let alone capture them. The ninja have the Techno Blades, and I am still confined to this digital hell! Do you not see the effects of your incompetence, General!”
“I am sorry, Lord. I will not disappoint you again.” Cryptor crackled out. He was optimistic, Pixal would give him that.
“No! You will not disappoint me, I will not give you the chance!” The Overlord darted a leg out angrily, catching the nindroids arm and nearly sending him to the floor as he sliced through fabric and skin to scratch against metal. Despite the pain crinkling the skin around his eye, she was satisfied to see that Cryptor at least stayed standing.
Now, the Overlord’s attention finally shifted to her.
“You were not originally made for battle or strategy, but it seems you function well... You are in charge as the general until I say otherwise, and I expect you to deliver that Golden Ninja to me! And while you’re at it, put that pile of junk to good use and get it out of my tower!” The Overlord roared the last part, jabbing another pointed leg into Cryptor’s neck and sending the lesser nindroid stumbling this time.
Pixal, now General Pixal, nodded stiffly. “Yes, my Lord. But my soldiers need guidance. We have looked in the obvious places, but we do not know the ninja. We do not know where they will run.”
The Overlord was dangerously silent. “I see what you mean, General. Do not worry. We will have the answers you seek soon enough.” His eyes glinted dangerously as the old man on the operating table finally stirred. “Very soon, indeed.”
General Pixal nodded, and then turned to Cryptor. He had brought himself back up to his full height, but he seemed to be holding his neck in an odd position. It did not matter. The Overlord may not have scrapped him, but she would not waste time or equipment mending a failure.
“I think I know a good use for Cryptor as well. When we do find signs of these ninja, I will send you ahead to retrieve the Techno Blades before we attack.”
Cryptor nodded, bowing slightly. “Yes, General.”
She stepped closer to the other nindroid, her next words quiet. She did not really care if the Overlord heard, but these words were not for him.
“Do not fail again, 0001. I will know where you are, and I have no reason to save you from the scrap pile.” With that, Pixal left the silent nidroid and joined the Overlord where he was preparing his equipment to upload the sensei’s mind. Soon they would find the ninja, and when they did she would prove herself more than worthy of her new position as General.
…
The forest was rather beautiful this time of day. It may have taken them the remainder of the night and morning to get to Garmadon’s monastery, but it seems to fill Zane with a fragile peace as soon as the mountains and forests surrounding the grand building come into view.
Garmadon used to be one of their greatest enemies, but now Zane cannot help but look up to him with a deep respect. He is Lloyd’s father, and the resemblance is obvious now in the wisdom Lloyd has even at such a young age, the determination they share, and the kindness he had never expected to be a family trait.
But here they were now, with Garmadon as his uncorrupted self. He was finally able to be the person he wanted to be, and give up fighting and villainy completely to instead guide others to find their own strength. He was finally able to be a father his son could be proud of.
Gosh, Zane missed his own father. He had been a flawed man in his own ways, but Zane would never think poorly of him.
He still remembered when he learned of his father's illness, that the miracle of his continued life was only preserved by the very power they had destroyed. It was unclear whether the Overlord had thought Dr. Julien's knowledge was useful, or if it was because of his proximity to the last known location of the deceased Master of Ice, but whatever the reason his power had found the man and refused to let him die.
Once the Overlord was weakened, it had only been a matter of weeks before Zane had to say goodbye to his creator for the final time.
With a shake of his head he banished these thoughts, they would only clog his processor and cause him grief. He needed to be alert, they were fugitives from the Overlord and his new army of nindroids.
They touched down a ways off from the monastery, and Cole and Lloyd almost immediately got to work on hiding the vehicles they had escaped in. Cole may not have super strength anymore, but with Lloyd’s help he was easily able to lift most of the smaller trees and use them to cover the mechs so that they would be invisible to any aerial spies.
Zane was going to volunteer to help them, as he had more consistent strength than most humans, but Nya stopped him before he could. She had joined them in the Samurai X mech shortly before they arrived, apparently she had left the kids under the care of one of the teachers that they worked with sometimes, Darreth. Zane felt a bit uneasy about leaving the children under the protection of someone untrained for both combat and basic childcare, but he had always been a reliable ally.
“Zane, I saw how you were favoring your right arm back there. I know you’re tough, but I’m still worried. With whatever the Overlord is planning, we can't have you glitching out on us because a wire got crushed and we didn't take care of it.” She said. Nya looked more tired than Zane had seen her in a long while, with her thick, shoulder-length black hair tangled and her dress stained with both blood and oil. In her left hand she was holding a small metal box, no doubt a toolbox she had taken from her mech.
“Thank you, but my injuries are not serious. It is more important-” He began to argue.
“Zane, please?” Nya had reached out now, holding his arm with her free hand to stop him from moving away. “I-I need to do something .”
That made him pause. He looked at her more closely, taking in the bags under her eyes and the way her lip was irritated where she had obviously been biting it. Something was bothering her.
He nodded in agreement, and they made their way to the monastery. Kai and Jay had already gone ahead to warn Garmadon and gather some food and water for the rest of them, so they were not surprised when they passed Misako and Garmadon on the way in. He could tell they were eager to see Lloyd, and they just waved a quick greeting and told them they were happy to see them before disappearing farther into the forest.
Once they arrived at the monastery, Nya had to shoo off Kai and Jay. They had been helping the inhabitants prepare for the arrival of the rest of the ninja, but upon seeing Nya they were both eager to check if she needed anything.
“I’m going to check up on Zane quickly, if I don’t do it now I’m sure he’ll just brush me off later.” Her voice was good natured as she called out to her brother and boyfriend.
Zane actually wasn’t certain what Jay and Nya's relationship was at the moment. He did his best to understand the important things in his friends lives, but they had both been rather odd around each other lately and it didn't seem like a good thing.
Nya asked a group who were gathering water if they had a medical room, and one of Garmadon’s younger students was happy to drop their bucket and guide them. The kid rambled rather awkwardly as they led them through the halls, obviously starstruck by their presence.
They arrived at a small clinic which had simple first aid supplies in case of injuries. Zane looked around, knowing his friends he would definitely have to ask Garmadon if he could take some supplies before they left.
“Thank you, I think I can take it from here.” Nya said to the kid who had led them, and they bowed and walked out. Nya worked quickly in taking out her supplies. She always insisted they were for her Samurai X mech, but Zane knew a good deal of the tools and parts she was always sure to keep with her had no use on such a machine and were instead meant for him. He appreciated her concern, and he hoped he could at least partially return the favor by helping to ease her mind.
“Is something bothering you?” He asked as she got to work on inspecting his injured shoulder, moving his arm around and listening to the joint as something clicked within it. Zane flinched slightly at the feeling.
“Hmmm.” She said, glancing up at him briefly.
After a few more minutes of her working in silence, and Zane answering her simple questions regarding how he was feeling, she stepped back.
“Good news is, I think it’s just a sensor that was damaged or knocked out of position. The bad news is, that means it will probably either need to be replaced or fixed when I have proper equipment, and it could get worse between then and now.” She frowned, fiddling with a screwdriver. “I’m sorry I can’t fix it.”
“It is… not your fault. I do not need it fixed right now, it does not hurt that bad.” He assured her, she did not look like she felt any better. Nya then returned to her toolbox, putting her screwdriver away and taking out a pair of tubes instead.
“Yeah, I guess. I know I probably can’t do much for any cuts at this point aside from speeding up the curing process a bit, but I’ll still take another look. Those lasers were nasty and I wouldn’t want you bleeding through your new gi too quickly.”
Zane nodded and let her work in silence a bit longer. She had to mix up a small amount of the curing solution before using a wooden stick to apply it thinly over a lesion. The process didn’t hurt unless the gel layer that had formed in the injury was especially thin, so it was pretty easy for Zane to just relax as she applied it and stuck an adhesive over it to keep it from staining his clothes while it hardened.
“Nya, are you ok? You have not been acting within your normal parameters.” Zane prodded. It was not terribly abnormal for her to be quiet, but at this level it was starting to get concerning.
Nya sighed. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do and I was hoping to get my mind off of it, but I just can’t stop thinking about it.”
Zane frowned, connecting the dots. “It is not your fault Sensei Wu was captured. You saved the students, and that was your priority. Without you, we would likely be in a far worse position.”
Nya looked briefly surprised at Zane’s assumption, and he started to worry he had done the calculations wrong. Was she not worried about Sensei? What else would be bothering her?
“Oh, uh, yeah… That-That too I guess.”
“Is that… not what is bothering you?” Zane tried again.
“Ummm…” Nya was now looking away from Zane, as if the crutches leaning against the wall behind him were the most fascinating objects she had ever seen. “You- Y’know how me and Jay have been sort of… taking a break recently?”
“No, but that would make sense given your dismissal of Jay's presence outside of group gatherings.”
She winced slightly. “Yeah, I guess we haven't exactly been very open about it. Well, it was just that while we were at Borg Tower they had this thing? It was apparently supposed to show you your perfect match, and I thought it would be Jay, but it wasn’t.”
“I suppose that makes sense. There are millions of people in Ninjago city alone, depending on the dataset and calculations it is doing it is highly improbable you would even know the person it assigns.” Zane reasoned, not certain where this was going.
Nya was now biting her lip nervously. “Yeah, well, that’s where it gets awkward. I do know my 'perfect match’ and as much as I don’t want to listen to some random program, I can’t help but think that it kind of makes sense.”
Zane blinked in surprise. “Oh, that is statistically very improbable. If you don’t mind me asking, who is it?”
“Uh… it’s Cole, actually.”
Zane did not know how to take that information. Nya and Cole were good friends, but he had always thought that was in large part due to them liking each other in a purely platonic sense.
“I suppose I can see how it would come to that conclusion. You and Cole do get along well, and although you are very different in your interests I can not recall a time when you had a serious disagreement.”
Nya groaned. “So, do you think I should tell Cole about it? I mean, Jay’s the only one who makes me laugh, but Cole…?” She looked away. “Cole’s not Jay, and maybe that's what I need?”
“I… am not sure I follow your logic, but I suppose that it is ultimately up to you.” Zane answered. He could not understand her reasoning very well and he did not think it was very likely Cole would return her feelings, but he didn’t understand romance very well himself. Maybe this was normal?
“Thank you, Zane. I know it's probably weird, but it feels good to just get to talk about this at all.” Nya smiled, looking a bit more relaxed although still very tired. “It’s just thinking about how Jay might react worries me. I don’t want to lose him as a friend, and I would hate to come between him and Cole.”
“I am glad I can help, Nya. Try not to stress yourself, we are all friends, and I am sure that as long as you’re honest, Jay will understand.” Zane smiled. As dramatic as the blue ninja could be, he knew Jay was close with both Nya and Cole. He couldn’t imagine anything would create a rift between them for long.
“I hope you’re right, Zane.”
…
Later that day, after he had been given permission to use the small clinic to go over his human friends injuries and patched their share of scrapes and burns, he finally got the chance to be on his own. The rest were in the monastery, training with Sensei Garmadon. Zane had volunteered to watch the Techno Blades for the others, since they weren’t allowed to bring them into the monastery. It was dark now, and they did not know what Master Wu might have been forced to tell the enemy.
These were all very good reasons to keep watch, and he was worried about an attack from the dark, but he also just liked the stillness and quiet. He found it helped him appreciate his family more if he could get away from them and have his own time once in a while.
He heard the rustle of leaves behind him and turned silently to look. He could not see anything in the dark, and assumed it must have been a night creature, but continued to stay vigilant. He did not know if he would be able to take on that many nindroids on his own if they did organize an attack, so staying alert was his only defense for now.
Even so, his thoughts drifted back over the previous day, and the nindroids he had met before it had all gone so wrong. He could not believe that they were evil, he would not let himself think that the first people he had met who shared his physiology were truly bad. Was he only good because his father had envisioned that for him? No, he had made choices over his lifespan that lead him to where he is now, even without his father.
Even as he thinks this, the idea rings a bit hollow in his processor. He pushed it aside though. His brethren were being controlled, just like Nya had been when the Overlord had fought them before.
He let himself ponder the red eyes of the nindroid he met earlier, how they had shone. He could swear there was something deeper in there, a person with his own thoughts and feelings buried within malicious code and cold metal. Zane wanted to know him, to free him from the Overlord. There must be a way and he would not let himself think otherwise.
Zane had nearly made it back to where the Techno Blades were being hidden, he did not feel safe leaving them for long, when he thought he caught sight of a glint of color in the trees. He froze, letting the sounds of the forest fill his mind.
It was gone now, hidden amongst trees and bushes. It could have been many things, from a visual glitch to the reflection of a nocturnal animal's eyes.
It wasn't though, he still remembered that red from when it was first burned into his mind less than 48 hours ago.
They weren't the eyes of an animal, no, those were the red eyes of a nindroid.
He wasn't alone in this forest, and the Techno Blades were far from safe.
Notes:
College is tiring! One of my courses is pretty heavy, so I've basically been spending every free moment doing advanced algebra problems lol.
That said, working on this has been such a nice escape! I'm sorry the chapter is a bit late, but it's extra long to make up for it. My word count minimum for a chapter on this fic is 3k, and this is over 6k.
As always, feel free to make noises at me in the comments, it really makes my day! Also, the love triangle is being introduced finally! I know everybody kind of hates it, but honestly I think that it's pretty funny and I'm really excited to play around with the petty side of these dorks. Also, BadFeelin, my beta reader, is currently suffering from his own busy schedule so show his podfics some love if you can!
(Also to be clear, I'm not shipping Cole and Nya in this. The only ship that is going to become canon as of this fic is tagged as far as I'm aware, though I do have plans for developing other relationships as the series continues.)
Chapter Text
Cryptor needs to succeed.
He knows where the ninja are now, and there is no excuse for his inability to carry out his function. He will get the Techno Blades back.
He has no choice if he doesn’t want to see his wires melted down for copper.
He’s been walking through the woods for an hour now, the eyes of the Overlord and their new general still haunting his processors. They had dropped him miles away from his target, apparently for stealth. Cryptor couldn’t help but think they could have gotten a bit closer, though. As much as it had flattened out now, the mountainous terrain had not been the easiest to navigate.
Despite the initial distance, he was now close to his destination. It was the monastery of the now reformed Lord Garmadon, and the third destination on the priority search list they had developed based off of the Sensei’s mind scans. The first place being the school that the ninja ran, which had been quickly deduced as empty by a small scouting mission with no sign of the ninja or their students. The old monastery of the ninja had also been searched, but it was found to be in ruins and long abandoned. Garmadon’s monastery was the next likely option with those two out of the way, but it was also nearly guaranteed to be inhabited which meant he would have to take greater care not to be spotted.
As Cryptor walked through the woods, he was careful to stay as silent as possible. His eyes were dimmed and his fans nearly off. This did put him at higher risk of overheating his processor, but between the wind flowing steadily through the trees and his open layout he doubted he would suffer any major complications.
He stopped briefly to scan the area and update his status for the general. He had come across something rather out of place in this mostly untouched wilderness.
A pit lay in the ground, fresh dirt and broken roots telling a rather violent story. A small tree had been standing here not long ago, and now it was gone. Not many things could do something of that magnitude, and the weather in this region had been recorded as calm over the last few weeks. This was also not in a space where people would normally log, and from what he could tell the tree would not have been ready to log even if it had been.
He focused more on the ground around the shallow pit, searching for any clue as to where it may have gone. His eyes lit up unconsciously for a moment as they fell on a clot of dirt and roots a good three meters away. He had a trail now, and if this was caused by the runaway ninja it may lead directly to them.
He proceeded through the dark, only stopping to verify that he had not lost the trail. After a few thousand feet, he sensed a glimmer of light that seemed unnatural. There, laying mostly hidden amongst dense bushes and torn branches, something metallic was glinting under the moonlight.
Mechs. He confirmed, noting the young trees draped over the machines. Their leaves were still fresh and alive, showing just how recently they had been placed.
He sent another transmission, confirming his position and findings before continuing forward.
The mechs were not his target, and he could feel something calling to him from nearby. He did not know how or why he felt it, but he knew it was there. It was waiting for him.
Cryptor soon felt the call grow stronger, and he swore he could see a glow rising amongst the new found foliage. Oddly enough, when he scanned for changes in lighting, he could not find a notable difference. Thorns buried themselves into his uniform and synthetic skin as he pushed through prickly branches, and he felt his fans speed up as his eyes finally landed on what he had been searching for so desperately.
The Techno Blades.
All four of them, so close he could feel their presence clearly now. As he reached out and gripped one, his mind was briefly overwhelmed by the feeling of code traveling through his processor, mapping it out. He gritted his teeth and did his best to shut the feeling out, grounding himself against the familiar pain in his flesh and the image of malicious glowing eyes that seemed to always be embedded in his mind.
That was… unsettling to say the least. He would have to ignore it for now since the mission was his greatest priority, but it left an odd tight feeling in his mind. It felt like it had tried to communicate with him, but whatever it had wanted to say was luckily unable to make it through whatever protections the Overlord had engineered into his code.
He could almost feel his processor clamping down as he followed this line of thought, stifling his ability to think. He did not like this at all. What were these blades capable of?
Leaves rustled in the dark, and somewhere nearby a branch cracked under a heavy weight.
Cryptor went rigid. Did he imagine a flash of movement between the trees? It could just be a wild animal, but he did not want to take his chances.
Gathering up the Techno Blades, he scanned the dense forest for an escape. They had been close, there was not much time to gain distance without his movement being spotted. He would have to conceal himself, preferably not directly beside where they had hid the blades. Quietly as possible, he stalked to a nearby pine that grew low to the ground, slipping through the foliage before pressing himself against the rough bark and settling into a crouch.
He could climb it, but he concluded that would only draw attention to his position so he stayed still for now.
Before long, an all too familiar figure materialized between trees. Their eyes shone in the dark, blue as only the deepest ice could be. Cryptor had to hold back a growl, resisting the urge to prepare his laser for attack.
It was the nindroid.
The first intersection of machine and humanity.
The first monster from which they had all been based, still hiding in its human skin.
Zane Julien.
…
Zane frowned, looking around at the dark trees. He was sure he had left the Techno Blades here. He had even felt their presence as he approached, but despite the odd feeling still clawing at his processor they were gone from their hiding place.
He knew he had seen eyes through the trees, and now all of his fears were confirmed.
He fell into a fighting stance, scanning the forest. He could not risk calling the others if they were being watched. The signal from the blades still felt strong, if he could follow it he could probably still find them before the thief was able to escape. Zane took a deep breath, centering himself before plunging towards the direction of the signal. He tried to retain a level of stealth, as he had no way to know if he had been spotted.
As he neared a lone pine, he had a moment to register movement before a dark form flung itself at him. He saw a blur of red eyes, silver, and gold a moment before he was knocked to the ground, shocked by the sudden change in position. It took him a few moments to recover, and by then his assailant had nearly disappeared into the forest, still clutching the stolen golden blades.
Zane only gave himself a second more to recover before he pushed himself up and took off after the figure. They were fast, but even without his power he was a trained ninja. He flipped through the trees, easily vaulting over bushes and fallen logs that his attacker stumbled on.
Calculating his trajectory, Zane ran up a nearby tree and grabbed a branch to throw himself higher, before jumping off onto the fleeing figure. He landed on them with a loud clang, knocking them to the ground.
They spun around, red eyes glaring up at him though most of the face was hidden by a mask.
Zane froze, his processor catching on recognition. “What? Cryptor, is that you? What are you doing here?”
The nindroid growled in rage, rushing forward and pushing Zane off. “Discontinuing an old droid.” He sneered, kicking Zane hard enough in the chest to send him back a few feet.
Through the pain and disorientation as his gyro caught up he realized he probably should have expected that response.
Zane did not let himself get taken off guard for long though, and recovered fast enough to block a second kick with relative ease. “You may call me old, but at least you'll never be able to call me slow.” He said, using the strength of the other nindroids next attack to send him off balance. Cryptor stumbled, and Zane used the opportunity to trip him and pin him against the ground. He cast around for a way to contain the nindroid before he could recover, his eyes settling on an old piece of wire that must have once belonged to a fence that was now mostly enveloped by the trees and undergrowth. It looked rusted and somewhat tangled, but it still appeared relatively strong. He reached down and grabbed it, tearing it from the ground with enough force to free it from a trunk that had grown around it. Once he had a long enough length of it, he used it to secure the nindroids wrists together.
Cryptor roared in rage, and Zane could hear his teeth grinding as he pulled him upright. The red lens on his chest had started to glow dangerously, and Zane remembered the terrible burns the laser could cause. Keeping a tight hold on Cryptor, he brought the other’s bound hands up to cover the lens before securing the wire around his back to keep him in place.
Zane winced slightly as he noticed the somewhat awkward position this put the limb in. “Sorry, I know that it is likely not very comfortable, but I’m afraid I can’t allow you to shoot me or my friends.”
Cryptor gave him an incredulous look, his visible eye narrowing. “You’re seriously apologizing for my discomfort? You ninja really are pathetic.”
“You deserve fair treatment, just as any other being does.” Zane said, ignoring the remark as he reached down to pick up the Techno Blades from where they had fallen during the fight.
Cryptor snorted. “I saw how many droids you and your little group disabled earlier, don’t tell me you really think that.”
Zane sighed, letting himself feel the guilt for a moment. It wouldn’t make up for the harm he had caused, but he could still let himself mourn for them. “I will not harm you without reason, but I cannot let you harm me or my friends either.” He explained, beginning to push the other nindroid the short distance to the monastery. They had gotten closer to it during the battle, and it was now within sight. “If I have to, I will disarm you as I would do with anyone else who threatens their lives.”
“You can lie to yourself as much as you want, but you’re just a droid doing their job.” He sneered. “You pretend to be human, but in reality you're just a worse version of us. It's disgusting.”
Zane didn’t look at the nindroid, he knew that would only encourage him. He didn’t know what the Overlord had programmed them with, but he had to remember that was likely where this was coming from. It wasn't the truth, just more lies from the embodiment of evil. It was meant to hurt.
The other ninja and Nya rushed out to greet him as he neared the gate of the monastery. Cryptor was silent now, but Zane could almost feel his glare on his skin as he dragged him along.
“It’s that security droid from Borg Tower! How did he find us?” Cole asked, glaring at the robot. Even without a weapon or powers, the black ninja could still be rather intimidating when he wanted to be.
Kai pushed past Cole. “How about we take him apart to find out.” he threatened, popping his knuckles as he approached.
Zane dropped the Techno Blades and put his hands up to stop Kai. He did not like where this was going. “Please, he was only doing what he was programmed to do. The Overlord has controlled many of us in a similar way before.”
“That was different! Just look at him, he’s obviously still dangerous! Not to mention we need answers! What would you suggest?” Kai asked, crossing his arms and taking a step back.
Zane thought for a moment, letting his eyes fall to the blades he had dropped only a moment ago.
“You are correct. He may hold the answers we need, but perhaps there is an easier way? For both us and him.” He reached for his blade, feeling the power activate within it as bright blue flashed from the handle and took the form of the weapon.
He turned back to Cryptor. The nindroid was flexing his mismatched hands in a way Zane could only describe as nervous, but the strength of the hostility in his glare when their eyes met was nearly enough to make Zane wince.
Cryptor growled, pulling against Zane's grip. “I am not answering your questions, and I will not hesitate to kill all of you the moment I have the chance. Once you have suffered your death, we will melt you down and we will use your parts to make the bolts that will hold together my Lord’s empire. That is the only way you will be known when everyone who had once cared for you is gone.” He hissed, the intensity of his gaze locked onto the ninja.
Zane felt a painful crackle in his chest. He had had many past opponents say terrible things to him in their defeat, but for some reason this hurt far more. Maybe it was because when he looked at Cryptor, he couldn't find it within himself to categorize him with the normal detachment he would give an enemy. He wanted to help Cryptor, and he could only hope that if he did Cryptor would one day judge him for himself and choose him as a friend.
“I apologize, this should not harm you.” Zane said, bringing up his blade and aiming it carefully. He did not want to take long, as every moment was another that Cryptor may use to try to escape, or even just say more harmful words. With a breath, he lightly touched the blade against the visible skin between Cryptors eye and headset.
Light surged from the point of contact, engulfing the blade fully in the blue glow for a moment and spreading through Cryptor. His eyes flickered, their color shifting to match that of the blade before his visible eye widened and he stumbled back.
Zane rushed forward to catch him, just barely stopping Cryptor from crashing into the ground.
He could hear fans whirring angrily within the droid as he adjusted to whatever changes the blade had made. His now purple eye darted around, the aggression in them seemed to be replaced with something more akin to fear and confusion.
Zane could only hope he had made the right call.
…
Everything felt wrong, from an odd electrified feeling in his sensors to the thick fog that had settled over his processor. His eyes focused only roughly on the figure in front of him, but in his current state he couldn’t recall who they were. They were mostly white, like Pixal, but their eyes glowed an odd blue instead of the red he was accustomed to. He didn’t see any purple on them, either. If he was in the factory, why would he be seeing someone aside from Pixal? She was the one who ran all activation procedures. No, that didn’t make sense either. He shouldn’t be in the factory anymore because… he knew there was a reason, but aside from vague feelings and sentences nothing was making much sense to him at the moment.
Pain spiked in his sensors and any progress he had made in decoding his thoughts was instantly derailed as his voice box crackled. The sharp feeling luckily did not last long before receding into a dull ache, but the pain that seemed to ebb through his circuits didn’t let up.
His fans sped up and stuttered and he closed his eyes again as a new feeling settled over him, adding to the fog. Bitterness and rage unchallenged roiled and crackled in a way that made everything else dim in comparison, but it was more like a memory than a true feeling. Like a wave, it receded to give way for mission statements and memories as his drives came back online. Everything suddenly felt both hazy but so much sharper than it had in a long time . It was overwhelming as code that had always been suppressed and filed away finally was free to run, and suddenly his very reason for existence felt far less solid than it had always been.
The figure was leaning over him, words he could not understand flowing from a deceptively human mouth. He could register worry in its tone, though, and that was what really confirmed to him that this was not Pixal nor any other robot he had known. He was remembering now, and he knew she would not be kind to him, not after another failure. He had his chance, and not only did he lose the blades but he was defeated by an outdated nindroid made of spare parts and science so ancient and forgotten it was verging on magic.
Finally, he felt clarity as his eyes came into focus on the nindroid above him.
“No!” He growled, trying to kick away and nearly succeeding in freeing himself until color flashed around him and he felt more hands clamp down on him like vices. The nindroid was not alone, and he couldn’t help the frustration and fear that ran through him when he realized that he had no way out of this. An overwhelming feeling of hopelessness nearly sent him reeling, and he felt his voice box crackle as he tried to deal with the unfamiliar feeling. No matter how bad things were, he had never felt like this before. It hurt so badly, so different from the anger he had always slipped into with ease. What had they done to him? Why did it hurt?
He couldn’t feel Pixal or the army in his brain anymore, but they had to be close. She must know something was wrong, and that this was her chance to see his end. He was no longer worried about the ninja hurting him, they had already done their worst, but Pixal wouldn’t hesitate to destroy him when she saw how weak he was. He was a liability now, after all. She would be right to destroy him.
He wanted to wail at the thought, and that alone shocked him enough to pause the spiral he had begun to fall into. He wasn’t supposed to show physical pain, he wasn’t even sure this was physical pain. What was happening to him?
He couldn’t let his breakdown continue for much longer. Reality was beckoning him now, and he had to focus if he was going to be able to answer its call.
Cryptor pushed away the confusion and despair, trying to replace it with indifference. He was pretty sure he wasn’t succeeding as fear and the emotional pain was still eating away at his code, but he could focus.
Words were being said, and he could listen now.
“-Hey, hey. It’s ok, I did not wish to harm you. Can you hear me? I’m sorry-” The nindroid in white was rambling. He looked scared as he scanned Cryptor’s face, but he wasn’t scared of him. No, he was scared for him. It was such an unfamiliar expression to see focused on him, and only confused him more. This nindroid had harmed him and his concern was a lie and he couldn’t be trusted. He knew all of this to be fact, but even knowing this Cryptor still felt almost compelled to reassure him.
Instead, he recoiled as far as he could, biting down on air with a snap and growling.
“I don’t know what you did, but I can confirm that I was in fact harmed by your actions.” Cryptor hissed. “The Overlord will surely take great pleasure in disassembling me and melting me down for scrap after this failure, and he will be right to do so. Maybe if I’m lucky, he’ll be so excited to have his hands on you that he will wait until you’re dissected to tear me apart. I would like to watch your fake humanity be stripped away before I am destroyed.” He hoped that the nindroid would back off from his words and start looking at him with disgust instead of warmth, he knew the others were horrified by their own sounds of rage and horror.
Instead, the nindroid froze, staring at Cryptor with his disconcerting eyes.
“They would- We… I wouldn’t let that happen. You are under our protection now, and you will not be harmed.” The white ninja insisted. He had known they were foolish, but now he was witness to it up close he couldn’t imagine how he had failed to defeat them. Had he even heard what Cryptor had said?
“You won’t have a choice in what happens soon. General Pixal will be here any moment now with an army far more prepared than you know. You don’t stand a chance, and I can only hope she lets you suffer instead of offering a quick end.” He spat the words out, teeth still bared under his mask. He could feel his fear surging now as moments slipped away, but he didn’t care anymore. It was too much to try to hide now.
“What?!” Voices suddenly sounded from around him, only sending Cryptor deeper into the panicked feelings clawing through him. “What do you mean an army? They’re coming here now?!”
“Of course they are! Did you think I just happened to stumble across you here? They sent me here! I couldn't stop them from tearing you apart if I wanted to! They will have Lloyd’s golden power, and the Overlord will be unstoppable” Cryptor barely knew what he was saying, it was all too much, all far too fast.
He registered that he was shaking. He tried to speed his fans up in an attempt to increase airflow and cool down his overheating processor, only to find they were already going far too fast to be sustainable.
He was sure his processor would shut down soon if this continued, and he could almost feel his sensors overloading just as they had when he had first been activated. Everything just felt so much stronger than it had before, nothing was under control. Lord, what was happening to him.
He did his best to look away, into the forest. The darkness within the trees had a calming effect, it was like the depths of the factory during a rest period or the transportation lockers.
Something caught his eye, an odd distortion in the air. There must be light reflecting back to him, he could feel it in his sensors, but he couldn't pinpoint it. It was almost like it was somehow rerouting his vision, but that didn't make sense. There was very little technology that could override his perception, and all of it was owned by the Overlord.
Ah. That would make sense, actually.
“Let me go!” He yelled, pushing against the ninja with all of his power as the deadly sharp blade of an ax cut through the air above him.
…
Pixal dropped down onto the cool forest floor, surrounded by the dull crunch of plantlife as her soldiers descended to join her.
She pulled cool night air over her sensors for analysis. The forest was more humid than she was used to, and the smell of oil and fire she had always known was replaced with that of wildlife and pollen. It seemed there were no major mechanical operations nearby but her sensors were not fine enough to pick out whether the ninja were near, that was Cryptor’s job.
She stepped out from the shadow of the chopper she had departed from. It was hovering near silently just above the trees, a model the Overlord had Borg design specifically for stealth.
Checking her position, she motioned for her team to follow. Now that she was the general, she had been given new clothing for battle. Moonlight glinted against the silver armor that now adorned her shoulders, chest, and hips as she moved, and she reveled in the weight of it. The lower part of her face was covered by a dark purple mask, and she now wore a purple gi instead of the revealing uniform she had worn before.
She felt right when she had first seen the image of herself recorded in the security cameras. It felt like her physical appearance was finally cohesive, the armor complementing her strength instead of trying to hide it by making her seem dainty or small. She had always been more heavy and powerful than the nindroids, and it felt good to have it embraced. It didn't matter what they had built her for, this was where she was meant to be.
She was finally ready to carry out her part of their mission and secure victory for her Lord.
Her team had not touched down far from the monastery, but they were far enough that they wouldn’t be noticed. Cryptor had already sent a few transmissions, mostly showing signs of the ninja and confirming his position. She did not truly expect him to capture the blades himself, as his skill had been proven to be nowhere near her own, but he should be able to find them at least. He was made to be stealthy as well as fight, after all. She couldn’t imagine he would fail at both.
His signal was now nearing the monastery after some odd movement in the forest. Perhaps he had spotted the ninja and been following them? If that was the case it was annoying that he had not reported it yet, but as long as he called in soon with an explanation it could be forgiven. If he failed to get back to her, she would just have to go in blind. The number of nindroids she had at her disposal and their advanced technology meant their chances of success were high either way.
It was Cryptor who would pay the price if he didn’t follow procedure.
It had been too long without a signal now, and they didn’t have time to waste waiting for Cryptor to remember his mission. She sent a message through her team, notifying them that they were to begin their final approach, and set off.
The forest became quiet as they walked, the night animals fearing the presence of such a large group. She did not like how noticeable they were without their shields up, but the relative silence did at least allow her to focus all of her hearing on any possible threats.
They were nearing the river now. According to her scouts, this would flow right in front of the gates to Garmadon’s monastery. The sound of the river and the nearby waterfalls would also prove useful, as it would help hide their approach.
She turned to address her group, opening a channel so they would all hear. “From here on out, we are all to activate our visual shields so as not to be seen. Even with the shields on, once the monastery is in sight we will have to be as quiet as possible. This includes minimizing noise from fans, harddrives, and our mechanics. If we are heard, our chances of success decrease and we cannot-”
An odd feeling distracted her, cutting her off. It was something to do with Cryptor’s signal. It seemed off, still there but… different somehow. She decided to ignore it, they would be there soon and it wasn’t her job to worry over Cryptor’s technical issues.
“General…?” One of the soldiers asked cautiously. Their voice was raspy and low, as with all of the nindroids.
She glared at them, before sending a transmission to her entire fleet and turning back towards the monastery. She activated her shields, instantly becoming practically invisible, and started running. She had a feeling something was wrong, and the sooner she could assess the situation and run her calculations the better their chances of success would be.
Before long, she was in sight of the monastery. They were forced to slow so as not to warn the ninja of their approach, but as the gates came into view what Pixal saw threw her processor into high gear.
Cryptor had been captured, and she could hear the enemy speaking around him. One of them was standing over him, holding a Techno Blade high and seemingly preparing to use it. Pixal may not be incredibly fond of the other droid’s behavior, but that didn’t stop a sick feeling from growing within her. As much as she may want to, she couldn’t risk revealing herself now to save Cryptor. It was important for her mission that they remain concealed until they were ready to strike.
The ninja finally brought the blade down, slicing forward into the nindroid and blinding Pixal in a flash of light. She grimaced, flinching back as pain flashed through her own mind. Cryptor crumpled, the white ninja dropping his still gleaming blade and just barely catching him before he hit the ground.
Pixal took a breath, inspecting herself for damage. Nothing seemed wrong, but when she reached into her data she felt an odd feeling ebb into her. Something had damaged her connection to Cryptor. She had not been aware of just how central that connection was until now. It was still there but it felt confused when she reached for it, the data scrambled and her doorway for communication shut.
A moment later, Cryptor was starting to move again. She could make out his eyes shining an odd purple color, and her auditory systems registered words as he seemed to be coming to. She couldn’t see his face under his mask, but she assumed he must be speaking now. What had the ninja done to him?
She sent a transmission to her soldiers, telling them to get into position. They would surround the enemy, and then as long as they were able to surprise them, attaining the blades and the golden one would be the most likely outcome.
Sneaking forward, she let herself move within hearing range. If she so much as let her joints crack, she could be found now. She had to take care.
Cryptor was struggling now, unable to escape the ninja holding him but doing an incredible job as a distraction. She could hear his panic, blabbering something about the Overlord. She did not know what they had done to him, but it made her feel sick to see one of her warriors in such a position. He may be a failure, but until the Overlord decided he had outlived his usefulness he was still her responsibility. The ninja would pay for thinking they could capture one of her own.
She moved her hand to rest against the handle of her ax, the wickedly sharp edge hidden in cloth so as not to disrupt her shield.
Cryptor was only growing more frantic, although he seemed to have given up on escape. She tuned him out, it did not matter what he told them. They would not live through this, and even if they did she could always just replay the information from Cryptor’s drives.
Inching closer, she prepared to send the alert to drop their shields and move all power into their attack.
Pixal was close enough now, and she carefully revealed her ax and adjusted it in her grip. She would just have to risk the distortion it could cause.
Shining purple eyes turned to her and she froze.
Everything seemed still for a moment as they stared at each other through the dark. She knew she should not be visible, but she also knew that Cryptor had a strong visual processor. What she didn’t know was how he would react. She couldn’t risk him giving away her advantage of surprise.
Pixal saw him start to move again and made her decision. She dropped her cloak and put all of her power into a lunge, swinging her ax in a wide arc.
“Let me go!” She heard Cryptor yell, pushing against his captors with more power than he had been using before. The white ninja was forced to stumble back, and Pixal cursed internally when her blade missed his throat by an inch. She knew Cryptor probably didn’t know his actions would save the ninja, but she let the anger burn in her processor anyway.
Seemingly out of thin air, her soldiers started to materialize around the ninja. They brandished their own weapons, charging forward with a single purpose. Acquire the Techno Blades and the golden power.
They were all given the same orders. The only ninja they needed alive was the golden child.
The rest they had been authorized to kill.
Notes:
Homework sucks but you know what doesn't suck? ROBOTS!
With this chapter I've officially broken 25k fully edited and posted words! I hope you all enjoy, feel free to yell at me in the comments if you have anything you want to say! I would be interested to know if anyone has any comments on my characterization or ways I could improve it as we go forward.
Also, special thanks to BadFeelin for beta-ing this chapter! If you like podfics, you should check out the audio version of this he's doing!
(Unrelated but the First Tech Challenge game just got revealed and I for one am super excited. We sent the kids home with the mission to make their best paper airplanes and I can't wait to see what they come up with. Gosh, I love robots.)
Chapter Text
He hit the ground hard, the force pushing the breath out of his respiratory system. He hadn’t seen what had suddenly given Cryptor that strength, but Zane had a suspicion that it wasn’t the ninja he was scared of.
He only let himself stay down for a moment before he was scrambling back up onto his feet. The world seemed to blur around him as apparitions appeared from nowhere and solidified with their wickedly sharp weapons already drawn.
The weight of the situation was becoming clear very quickly. The ninja could still fight, but if Cryptor’s confidence was anything to go by the odds were far from favorable.
Cryptor had pushed himself behind the lines of the advancing army, the glow of his now purple eyes standing out among red. Zane could see he was talking to a pair of nindroid soldiers, but regretfully he couldn't do anything about it now; not with the threat of an ax and its angered wielder demanding his attention.
Before him stood the largest of the nindroids, red light bleeding through the white skin around her eyes and somehow making her glow. She looked stronger and more formidable than Cryptor had, and even if she hadn’t had an army he knew it wouldn’t be easy to take her down.
He had been too distracted at Borg Tower, but now he could see what the others meant when they said she was beautiful.
She growled, her eyes glowing a brighter red briefly. “I would tell you how hopeless this battle is, old-timer, but your chances of survival are far too low for even me to properly quantify.” her voice was cold.
Her ax flowed through the air towards him, but it was stopped by a blur of black and the sharp clang of metal.
Cole had grabbed his Techno Blade and was now using it to block her, although the strain was clear in his stance. “Move!” He yelled, ducking and pulling away suddenly, momentarily throwing her off balance.
“You don’t need to tell me twice!” Jay yelled, grabbing his own Techno Blade and dodging around an advancing nindroid.
Zane followed him, pulling his Techno Blade off of the ground and using it as a shield as he ran between the rain of weapons.
“We can’t let them surround us or we’re done for! Keep moving!” Kai yelled from somewhere behind him.
“Kai’s right! Whatever you do, don’t let them corner you or give them time to aim!” That was Nya, she didn’t have a Techno Blade but Zane knew better than to think she had come here unarmed. The monastery may not allow weapons, but Nya was good at bending rules and even better at breaking them.
He glanced back at where the nindroids had first attacked, trying to find Cole among the black clad soldiers.
He caught movement, and saw him still fighting Pixal. He knew his friend was the strongest of them, but it looked like even he was struggling as she pushed him back with a series of unforgiving strikes from her ax.
He dodged back towards his friend, being forced to avoid both melee and laser attacks as he went. “Cole, watch out!” Zane yelled, aiming to hit Pixal with the activated end of the Techno Blade. If he could free her from the Overlord’s control, maybe he could end this fight before anyone got hurt.
Pixal heard him and stepped to the side, barely missing his swing. She grabbed the hilt of the blade and wrenched it towards herself, pulling Zane into her reach. Her grip was so tight that he almost thought he could hear the metal creaking in his arm when she grabbed it. She didn’t have him long though, as she threw him like he was no more than a skipping stone. He heard Cole yell something, but was unable to make it out as the world rushed by. Any air in his system was knocked out of him as he felt himself crash into a rock, slowing his fall and causing him to roll painfully down the remainder of the cliffside, sharp stones tearing his synthetic skin.
Finally, he came to a stop when the ground evened out. He was laying on his back for a moment, pain echoing through his systems. There was some delay because of the quantity of injuries that his sensors were just managing to catch up with. He could still hear his friends fighting from over the cliffside and the whirring of machinery. He must have fallen down the short cliffside beside the monastery. It didn’t matter though. He had to get up. He had to help them.
He groaned, rolling over and using his hands to push himself up. He had only been down for a second, and the crunch of gravel behind him reminded him that it wasn’t safe to wait any longer.
Zane tried to activate his spinjitzu, but his gyro was still off and he was slow. He faltered as he felt something give way in the back of his knee, sending him back to the ground.
He groaned, closing his eyes briefly as his gyro caught up. He was alone, the others were still fighting over the hill. He couldn’t afford to have his body fail him now.
“Oh, how the great have fallen.” A now familiar voice growled.
…
Cryptor had regretted his movement almost as soon as he had done it. He was glad to be out of the ninja’s grasp, but could only describe the feeling that was running through him as a mixture of nausea and pain. His arms were still bound and he did not have the strength to free himself, but that didn’t matter as much when he was surrounded by the nindroid army.
The ninja had not fallen to his brethren yet and most were in the battle, but a pair had remained by Cryptor and were now kneeling down to scan him with narrowed eyes.
The familiar red glow was a comfort in comparison to the garish colors of the ninja he had been captured by a moment ago. This army was made up of those like him, but he noticed their wariness. He tried to reach out and establish a connection, assure them that the hacking had not worked and he could continue to fight for the Overlord.
Why wasn’t it working? Why couldn’t he feel them?
“Cryptor.” One of the soldiers started. “I cannot detect your signal and you have not been responding. Are you able to fight?”
“Yes. Once I am freed from this wire, I will make those ninja pay.” He growled.
That seemed to be enough for the nindroids, and they made quick work of pulling apart the wire. Once freed, he used his sore arms to push himself onto his feet. He could feel the soldier's eyes on him as he stumbled, but he tried to ignore it. He had to prove his abilities had not been compromised.
The fighting had broken out in front of him, Pixal facing off against the black ninja as her soldiers tried to contain the others. It was like watching a cat try to catch a laser though, and so far it seemed the ninja were more than adept at evading. It wouldn’t be much help if he joined them, not in this state.
The white ninja ran forward, aiming to hack Pixal with the terrible blade. He of course failed and Cryptor felt an odd mix of satisfaction and something much less pleasant as she flung him over the hillside, down to the shore of the river below. He tried to ignore the mixed feelings, instead focusing on the satisfaction of seeing his enemy harmed.
“Cryptor!” Pixal was now facing off against a very angry black ninja, but he could see her eyes flash over him, her scanner likely trying to make sense of his current state. “Are you functional?”
“Yes. I do not know what the blade did to my communications, but I am ready to fight.” He called back.
“Prove it.” She said, managing to get past Cole's defenses and bring the end of her ax handle into the black ninja’s chest, sending him back a few meters. She motioned towards the cliff. “Make yourself useful and prove that you remain uncompromised by killing the white ninja.”
He nodded in confirmation and began making his way to the ledge. He was still unsteady, but he understood the importance of his next actions.
They did not know the effects the Techno Blade would have on a nindroid, but if he could kill a ninja it would surely mean he was at least not a spy and had not been turned against the Overlord.
Just as importantly, if he could prove he had more worth assembled, then Pixal would consider that. She cared about numbers and she cared about success, and if he could give her what she wanted she would regret it when the Overlord tore him apart. He may feel unsteady, in pain and his thoughts may be confusing, but she didn’t need to know that. She didn't need to see any more of his weakness.
He had been ordered to kill the white ninja, and this time he wouldn’t fail. He may not be able to understand his own mind anymore, but he could understand an order.
…
Zane blinked open his eyes, forcing himself to sit up.
“You were prattling on about protecting and helping me, but you seem to be unable to protect yourself. Shocking turn of events, that.” Cryptor said, his voice bitter. He had crouched down a few feet away from him, his purple eyes glowing dangerously.
Zane still felt slow after the fall and he could tell that he was in trouble. He would normally be able to handle Cryptor, but he wasn’t sure if he could in his current state.
The painful feeling in his chest from seeing those now purple eyes still carrying out the Overlord’s bidding did not help. He must have used the Techno Blade correctly, it didn't make sense. Why hadn’t it worked? Why wasn’t he free?
Zane noticed that the nindroid was holding a hand out to his side almost gingerly, as if to balance himself. Now that he was looking, he noticed a lot of things that weren’t matching up with the image the nindroid warrior should have. His posture was pulled in and small, and he seemed almost unsteady. He hadn’t made a move to actually hurt Zane yet either, but that could just be a show of his confidence. He might just be playing with Zane like a cat plays with a mouse, letting it slowly lose hope before finally crushing its skull.
The mental image that thought conjured made Zane shiver in disgust. He could only hope that wouldn't be the case. Maybe he would be lucky, maybe the Techno Blade had worked, at least in some way?
“Cryptor, are you ok?” Zane asked softly, watching how Cryptor tensed at the question.
He narrowed his eyes, a harsh laugh escaping him. “You really want to ask that now? I may have been the prisoner before, but our roles are reversed. I know that no matter what I do, I’m no longer a soldier the Overlord can use.” He motioned at his eyes, now purple instead of red. “You did this to me, you compromised me and stole my ability to communicate. You made me an unknown factor that the general will not tolerate in her calculations.”
“The Overlord was controlling you-” Zane tried to speak, to get Cryptor listening, but he was cut off by another harsh laugh.
“Of course he was! I was made to be loyal to him, I should hope he controls me!” The nindroid stood up, walking closer to Zane. “But now I can’t even feel his will! It was such a part of me I didn’t even know it was there, and now it’s gone and I have nothing .”
“You don’t have to follow him now, Cryptor. You can be free.” He pleaded, trying to meet the nindroids eyes.
Cryptor sprung forward with a growl, throwing Zane back into the ground. Zane tried to push him off, but he was distracted by a surge of overwhelming pain as the nindroid dug his hand into the scar down the center of his face and pulled .
The skin gave way and he felt the panel dislodge underneath it.
It only got worse as he felt a blade dig into his chest, separating the thin seam that allowed him to access his electronics farther than it was supposed to go. He could feel the hinge jolt, snapping and pinching the inside of his skin. His damaged faceplate was knocked aside and the hand pulled back, revealing a glowing blue eye. It was all far too much, and he couldn’t get away. He was being torn apart by the man he had tried to save.
He couldn't push anywhere near enough air through his system to cool his overworked processor now. Darkness was covering his vision and the world around him started to fade out as all non-core functions were cut to reserve power and lessen damage from overheating.
“You don’t know what you’re doing, do you? How can you say you want to ‘protect those who can’t protect themselves’ when you can be so easily defeated by a cheap knockoff?” Cryptor snarled the words, his face far too close as the knife loosened the panel in his chest. “I can only assume the human you stupidly refer to as a father would have to deactivate you out of embarrassment if he saw how you failed.”
Zane couldn't help but gasp through the pain. Cryptor was right, he had failed. It was obvious that the Overlord had done more than just program them to be like this, and they couldn’t protect themselves. If what he had said earlier was true, all he had really done was sign Cryptor’s death warrant.
He didn’t want to shut down. He needed to do something, say something.
At least let him apologize. Just a few words, he can do that much.
“Cryptor, I’m sorry. I harmed you and failed to protect you. I’m sorry.” He forced his voice to work, and hoped it was loud enough to be heard.
Cryptor paused, the pressure from the knife letting up on his chest. He knew it was likely only moments, but it felt like more as he waited for it to plunge in again and his processor to finally give in and send him into the dark.
"I-" Cryptor's voice started, crackly in Zane’s ears.
Before he could hear the rest, the nindroid’s hold on him broke and he could hear shouting and felt gravel hit him from what must be a very near skuffle. His eyes snapped back into focus, and he grimaced at the red that blurred his vision on his left. Hands seemed to materialize, heaving him up off of the ground. He wobbled slightly, but was able to stay upright.
Zane looked back to see who it was, meeting Lloyd’s eyes. He smiled, trying to ignore the odd feeling of the synthetic skin missing from his face and the gel drying on his chest. He couldn’t find his voice, but he hoped Lloyd could understand how much he appreciated being saved.
Lloyd said something, and then Kai appeared in his vision, leading a struggling Cryptor. He couldn’t help but notice the clumsiness in Cryptor's movements and the way his eyes seem unfocused.
"-Zane? Are you ok?" Lloyd's voice faded in through his shock.
"... Yes. My skin has healed from worse." He answered, his voice still quiet.
"Awesome. Now that your Techno Blade plan obviously didn't work, can we try taking this guy apart for information instead? Preferably painfully." Kai asked, glaring at the captive nindroid as he started pulling him up the stairway and back towards the main battle.
Zane snapped his head up, glaring at Kai. "No! I think it did work. It's just… The Overlord was all he knew, we can’t expect him to be normal immediately. Don't hurt him, he’s just confused." Zane said, being supported by Lloyd as they started up the stairs.
"Oh that's understandable then. I also try to kill people when I'm confused." Kai said wryly. Cryptor growled in his grasp.
"No you don't?" Zane was caught off guard by that, as he had never seen Kai try to kill anyone before.
"Exactly, Zane! People don't do that, it's absurd!" Kai yelled, jostling Cryptor.
"Guys, we can talk about this later. Just keep Cryptor under control." Lloyd said. "Nya, Cole, and Jay are doing their best but even they can't hold an army for long."
"Yes. I wouldn't be surprised if Pixal can behead your dear friends in the time it takes you to argue over me." Cryptor said coldly.
Kai looked both sick and angry, and Zane knew his own face probably had a similar expression.
They were silent for the rest of the short climb. The rest of the team were still fighting when they emerged, though Zane could tell that they were overwhelmed. It didn't help that even more nindroids were descending now, easily filling in for those who had been knocked out.
“We need to get out of here!” Lloyd yelled beside Zane, definitely confirming that his auditory processor is back on full sensitivity. He began dragging him towards the monastery, the rest of the ninja fleeing their own battles to gather around them.
“How?!” Jay yelled, fending off a nindroid with a powerful blow from his blade that left it staggering backwards. “There are a ton of these things, and they just keep coming!”
“Just follow me, I think I have an idea!” Nya yells, deflecting a laser with her collapsible shielding fan and leading them into the monastery. Zane is glad to see that Cryptor has stopped struggling against Kai when they enter the building, though he's concerned when he notices the faded look in his eyes.
Nya led them to the second floor, throwing open the balcony doors.
“Ok, we need to clear a path!” Nya said, scanning the thin balcony. Beside them, a large water wheel turned lazily in the river, providing energy for the small monastery. In front of them the land sloped away. The monastery was on a hill directly under a mountain, which meant they had a good view in front but behind them was nothing but stone.
“I have an idea!” Cole yelled above the sound of pursuing nondroids, motioning towards the water wheel. Zane was immediately apprehensive as his teammate hurriedly explained the plan, but they had no choice as lasers started to rain from the doorway.
Hopefully, this would work.
…
Pixal pushed past her soldiers, not caring if she knocked them over as she made her way to the door the ninja had disappeared through. She kicked the door open the rest of the way to reveal an empty balcony. The battle hadn't been as easy as she would have liked, but regardless of the oil dripping from the new lacerations in her skin, she had been winning until the ninja had run like cowards. Luckily for her, they had been just as foolish in their cowardice as in their battle, and her nindroids would surely find them before long.
“Soldiers, cover the balcony and search high and low! They can’t have gotten far.” Pixal yelled out the order, already starting to make her way to the roof.
A creaking sound rang out from behind her as she was about to ascend, followed by a crack and vibrations which caused the balcony to shake violently beneath her. She looked back in time to see the water wheel shudder as its axle shattered. It started to roll down the hill. It was slow at first, but it didn’t take long for it to pick up speed as it descended.
She grimaced under her mask, there were no ninja in sight now. A few of her army who had been tasked with patrolling the perimeter to prevent an escape were sent flying by the wooden wheel as it spun and crashed through the short stone wall. Once sleeping birds flew up into the air in a panic as it made its way through the forest. Soon, a final loud crash rang out and she could see a tree shudder as the wheel finally came to a stop within the forest.
The world was silent for a long moment. The only sounds being the water that was now carving a new path over the shattered wooden beams that had once supported the water wheel and the distant birds who had yet to calm down from their panic.
The roar of engines broke the momentary calm, echoing through the trees.
Pixal cursed, sending out a signal to her soldiers. The ninja had somehow made it to their vehicles. Her attack had been turned into a chase.
“They are in their vehicles and they're getting away! They have the Techno Blades. Shoot them down!” She roared, jumping from the balcony. They had a tank that should be able to take the shot, but aside from that she is powerless to stop them from the ground.
How did they even survive the trip down the hill? They were supposed to be powerless!
“We’ll need to get into the air, deploy all hovercraft currently ready. I will need extraction from the monastery.” She pinged her location, and heard whirring as dark crafts lifted into the air. Most of the vehicles rocketed forward in pursuit of the ninja, but one shot back and she waved it down. It came to a halt a few feet above the ground beside her and she jumped in. She motioned for them to follow the others before sending out another call.
“Set a trap. We have three Scorpions watching the eastern valley, if we can use our lasers to herd them there and keep them low and in range it can take them out.” Pings of affirmation responded, and she saw lasers flashing in the sky as they approached where the battle was taking place. The ninja seemed to be falling into their trap easily, probably in a panic. The red jet and large all-terrain vehicle were basically next to each other when the bolt of energy from the first waiting Scorpion was released, setting the jet aflame moments before it toppled from the sky.
The truck was struck a moment later, joining its companion as it went into a spin and flipped. The flames burned high, the smoke likely visible for miles against the night sky.
Pixal’s hovercraft swooped low to search for survivors. No movement aside from the flames could be seen, and she signaled for her soldiers to land and move in.
Even if the ninja were certainly dead, they still needed to search the wreckage for the blades.
It took nearly an hour before they were able to subdue the flames and begin their search, taking apart the twisted and charred remains of the vehicle to scan for the Techno Blades and biological material that could confirm the occupants' fate.
Pixal would normally have left the job to her fellow droids, but something felt wrong about this. Whether it was how easily they had herded and taken down their mechs, or the ninja’s historical cockroach-like ability to survive, she could not rest until they found proof of their defeat.
She grimaced, feeling a pang in her mind from Cryptor’s corrupted signal. If they had truly fallen from the sky, why hadn’t the disgraced general returned or died with them? Why could she still feel his signal, even in its transformed state?
One of her nindroids walked up to her, making a sound not unlike a human clearing their throat. She looked at them, signaling for them to speak.
“General Pixal, we have not identified the Techno Blades.” The way they looked over her shoulder instead of into her eyes almost seemed nervous.
“What about human or nindroid remains?” She asked, anxiety pricking at her sensors.
“Nothing, sir.”
Pixal ground her teeth, cursing again. Not only had they lost the ninja, but also the weapons. Not to mention Cryptor was corrupted and missing and she had no idea where to look. The Overlord would not be pleased.
…
Cryptor rolled away from the cracked wood, feeling the sensors on his synthetic skin protest where they had been smashed against the side of the wheel when it hit the ground. He could hear the other occupants shuffling beside him, letting themselves be a bit louder now that the sound of aircraft had grown distant.
“Owwww, I can feel each individual bone in my body and they’re all angry.” The one dressed in black, Cole, groaned, breaking the silence.
Somebody huffed in reply, and he heard a weak laugh that turned into a pained coughing fit.
“Tell me about it.” The words were accompanied by movement this time and Cryptor identified the voice of Kai Smith, the red ninja who had threatened him earlier.
“Ok, we really need to get out of here. It won’t be long until they figure out our vehicles were on autopilot.” Nya said.
Cryptor heard more movement and creaking wood as the others began to climb out of the structure. He stayed still, still reeling from everything that had happened. He had failed the Overlord and then been wrangled like some kind of feral dog and he couldn't even fight it! His processor felt slow and all he could see when he closed his eyes was the image of Zane, half of his face torn away to reveal stained metal. It was horrifying, and he shouldn't feel sick from it, but he did.
He could have killed him. He should have killed him.
He was glad he had failed.
What was wrong with him?
He wished Pixal had killed him when she had the chance, if he had died then at least he wouldn’t have to know just how far his own mind had been corrupted. He knew the Overlord did not take kindly to traitors, but he hoped he would make it quick. He had gone light on Cyrus Borg so as not to kill him, but he would have no such qualms when it came to a faulty nindroid.
Cryptor was pulled out of these thoughts by a cold hand resting lightly on his arm. He tensed, looking up to see blonde hair and blue eyes illuminated by the moonlight. He felt an odd sensation in his processor. He did his best to move away from the white ninja with a crackly growl.
“Cryptor, were you harmed?” Zane Julien’s voice was quiet and sincere, and his eyebrows were creased with worry. The side of his face that had been detached seemed stiff and the seam was stained with red gel. Cryptor had done that to him, and Zane was still trying to check and see if he was ok.
The thought only seemed to send more pain through his mind, making him shudder at the feeling.
“Cryptor?” Zane asked again, clearly worried by the lack of response. Cryptor’s fans sped up as he batted down the odd feelings.
“You should worry about yourself.” He hissed, pushing Zane away and crawling out of the wheel. The other nindroid followed him, stumbling slightly when he went to stand.
“Zane, be careful! We don’t know how badly you were injured back there.” The blue one, Jay, appeared beside the white ninja. Cryptor backed away, trying to put as much space between himself and them as he could now that they were distracted.
He was stopped when he backed into something behind him and it pushed back. He stumbled forward, barely stopping himself from falling.
“Watch it. We aren’t letting you run back to the Overlord that easily.” Cryptor cringed, hearing the clear anger and distrust in the red ninja’s voice. He was far from safe here, surrounded by both proud enemies and liars.
“I used the Techno Blade, Cryptor has no connection to the Overlord anymore. He can't go back, not even if he wants to.” Zane said, glaring at Kai. Cryptor almost thought he caught guilt in the white ninja's eyes.
“Zane, you don't know that. These robots aren’t like you, they were created to destroy. We need to get information from him, yeah, but I don’t think it’s wise to trust after what he did back there.” That was the black ninja again. He was glowering at Cryptor menacingly.
Cryptor huffed. It wasn't like he was wrong, he wanted nothing more than to be able to kill the ninja and return to his Lord. It was what he was made for, after all. The pain and revulsion that he now felt whenever he thought of the ninja's blood on his hands was irrelevant.
“That’s-” Zane seemed to be about to protest, trying to push himself away from Jay. He was cut off by Nya, who glared at all of them impatiently.
“As fun as this is, it can wait. We need to leave before they find us.” She said.
An elderly man with gray hair and tired eyes stepped out of the woods beside her, already nodding in agreement. Beside him was a woman who looked about the same age with a long gray braid. Something in Cryptor alerted with recognition. These were Garmadon and Misako, the parents of the Golden Ninja.
“Yes, Nya is right. I will also be joining you. Since the Overlord seems to be after my son, I’m not letting him out of my sight.” Garmadon said.
“I’ll stay and look after the monastery. I’m no fighter, but I wanted to see you before you left.” Misako said, hugging her son and whispering something into the green-clad ninja’s ear before she began to trek back.
“Ok.” The green ninja said. “There’s a reason they want the Techno Blades so badly, so we can’t let them have them.”
“And we definitely can’t let them get you.” Jay added.
“Would it be best to split up? I can keep Lloyd away from the Overlord, while you can work out how to defeat him.” Garmadon proposed.
“That would probably be best. Zane’s falcon knows the location of my secret Samurai X cave, you should go there and get whatever you need, then you can get as far away from us and the Overlord as possible.” Nya said
“You have a secret Samurai X cave? I thought we knew everything about each other.” Jay pouted.
“A girls’ gotta have her secrets.” Nya said, rolling her eyes playfully.
Cryptor hated this, the camaraderie and friendly banter. It felt like fingernails over a chalkboard, grating away his patience and making him want to lash out more than ever. He growled, glaring into the woods to avoid starting a fight. It wouldn’t help him, no matter how much he wanted to let his rage take over and ignore the traitorous voice that urged him to preserve his life by staying passive.
“What are you guys going to do? You aren’t going to be able to even get close to the Overlord with those nindroids everywhere.” Lloyd asked, obviously watching Cryptor out of the corner of his eye.
“We’re shutting down the power.” Nya answered.
“And it’s not like we’re blind. We have a nindroid to interrogate.” Kai said, putting a hand on Cryptor’s shoulder. His fingernails felt like claws where they dug into the synthetic skin.
Cryptor froze, stuck between shrinking back and trying to make himself seem more intimidating as attention turned to him. He settled on straightening his back as much as he could, trying to school himself into appearing unbothered and defiant.
“You will regret this. I will make sure of it.” He growled.
“Sure you will, buddy.” The red ninja said dismissively.
Oh, how he missed the wrath of the Overlord and Pixal’s emotionless numbers and quiet treachery.
He had never imagined he would want to return to the factory.
…
Pixal bit her lip under her mask, pulling up the contact and opening the connection. She knew the Overlord would likely already know of their failure from the data they were always sending back, but she also knew this call was important. As the general this failure was her responsibility, after all.
Almost immediately, the angry eyes of her Lord filled her vision.
“General Pixal, I see you’re ready to accept your fate.” The voice oozed through her drives and processors, making her shiver.
“I apologize for the failure, Lord. We were able to destroy the ninja’s vehicles, but the Techno Blades and the Golden Ninja were not recovered. They have escaped.”
“I need that golden power, Pixal, and you will get it for me. I trust you did not call in fully empty handed? Otherwise, we may have to rethink your position”
Pixal took a breath in. She felt a bit like she was stuck beneath miles of water, crushing down on her with thousands of pounds of pressure.
“They seem to have used a Techno Blade on Cryptor, and have likely taken him with them. We do not know what they plan to use him for, and our connection was partially severed. However, I believe that I may still be able to use him to track them if they are indeed together.”
“Really? Why do you think this, prototype?”
“The signal has faded and changed, but it is still alive.”
“Do not disappoint me again, prototype. I would not let you die peacefully.” The words dripped with malice, and the connection was cut. Pixal gasped and let her head fall against the seat of the scorpion she was currently in.
After a moment, she sat up again. She closed her eyes, reaching into her data banks and pulling at the faded signal. Yes, Cryptor was still out there. She could feel it, the connection getting farther away as they traveled. It would take time to unwind it, but she knew once she did, the ninja would be in her grasp.
She refused to fail.
She refused to be useless.
Notes:
Stuff is happening! Ahhhhh! Also, I can't believe we're over 30k already! Have I mentioned this is my first fanfic ever?
Please feel free to give me feedback! I want to improve and write something people will enjoy and I'm more than happy to listen to any thoughts you have on how the story is developing!
Now, I just want to warn you all ahead of time that I may not post next week. I want to both produce good quality chapters and make sure I'm going in the right direction with the story as a whole, and that takes time even when I have so much drafted. I also have a few big tests coming up this week and next, so I want to focus on those. I might still post next week (I love this story and sharing it so much!), but I think giving myself some time to write further ahead will be beneficial in the long run.
That said, we are actually still a long ways away from the end of my current draft, so as long as these tests go well you won't see a long break anytime soon! I've actually done more writing this last week than my first three weeks of college combined between this chapter and future scenes.
Also, thank you to BadFeelin for beta-reading! Your feedback on these chapters is literally a lifesaver!
Chapter Text
Nya had seemingly known exactly where they needed to go to find transport, as the electrical plant that fed Ninjago was far enough out that there weren’t many roads that led there.
At the beginning of their journey, she explained that the entirety of Ninjago was fueled by an ancient and eternal storm. The power plant was only a way for the energy that permeated the air in the farthest reaches of the desert to be siphoned off and used. This meant it was incredibly remote, and even more dangerous.
People said that once you entered the region, your hair would start to stand on end just from the electricity in the air regardless of whether you were about to be struck by lightning or not. Even Jay, who had once commanded the element, would have to be careful.
But first they had to get there, and even with Nya’s extensive knowledge on the subject that was starting to seem like one of the harder things they’d have to do.
Zane was used to long hikes, having traveled many hundreds of miles over his lifetime without complaint. It was different when every step you took sent pain through your skin as sensors that had once been encased now caught on metal and cloth. He had denied the offer to stop and check his wounds, and the others had been forced to agree as they knew they did not have the time to spare.
Zane and Cryptor were still faring better than the humans. Zane only needed food for certain proteins and the water in his system could be held a long while when necessary. He was still grateful for the few supplies Misako had been able to give them though, as the gel that would usually leak through to repair the tears in his skin had been depleted and the process to make had required more water and protein than he could spare at the moment. He could feel dry air against the exposed sensors that hadn’t been covered.
Cryptor seemed to need even less than Zane. The nindroid had untied his black gi and let it hang open in the front for better airflow to his processor. Zane had caught a glimpse of a mechanical spine, wiring and a few metallic tubes, but nothing even resembling Zane’s own digestive system. He tried not to stare though, he had learned from Garmadon that people didn’t generally appreciate their open ribcages being ogled.
The other ninja also did their best not to stare as they walked. Zane noticed the way that Kai and the others had flinched when they would catch sight of the jutting metal ribs and tangled wire and hoses that took the place of organs. Even with this obvious discomfort, they seemed to stay close to the nindroid throughout the journey. Zane had even noticed that they seemed to position themselves in such a way that they would always be between Cryptor and himself. It bothered him, but he chose not to worry about it for now. The recent events had been jarring for all of them, after all. Only a few days ago, they would all have been counting down the hours until school would be over and Zane would begin preparing their shared dinner. Now, they were trekking across the wilderness with the threat of a new dark army hanging over them.
It had taken the rest of the night and well into the next day for them to get to their destination. It was a small rural town, only connected to the rest of Ninjago by a thin road that stretched into the distance. Trees had given way to rocky mountains and then sand as they walked, and the sun had risen high without a cloud in the sky. Needless to say, by the time they reached the town they were for the most part soaked with sweat and in desperate need of food, water, and rest.
The first building they entered was a gas station, and Nya immediately walked up to the desk to talk to the cashier. Zane and the others split up to collect food and water. Zane was sure to grab himself some deli meat at least. It wasn't the best, but it would hopefully contain enough of the right proteins to create more of the blood-like adhesive he needed to heal his skin. When they were done shopping and had bought all of their collected supplies, they went outside and gathered around an uncomfortable wooden bench that sat in front of the store.
Zane sat on the ground next to Cryptor, happy to finally stop moving. Around them, Jay, Kai, and Nya managed to all fit on the bench and Cole slumped down on the ground beside them, already digging into a questionable gas station sandwich.
“Ok, so I think I found our transportation. Not many vehicles go through here, but the lady at the counter has an uncle who has a friend, and that friend is in a traveling magic troupe” Nya started, after downing an energy drink.
“Now, they’re in town right now and it sounds like they’ll be willing to help us if they know what it’s about. Apparently, one of the members has a kid in Ninjago who nearly died when the Overlord attacked, and they’re probably still in the city because they’re a classic Ninjagan who refuses to heed danger. She gave me a number, and I’ll call as long as we’re all in agreement.”
"Sis, I would accept going into the storm on a hot air balloon at this point if it meant no more walking. This sounds perfect." Kai said. His words were followed by general agreement from the rest.
Zane really didn't care as long as it meant some kind of rest, and nodded his own agreement. Cryptor grumbled something that Zane was not able to make out through the gruffness of his lower tones, but he didn't seem to be waiting for an answer as he glared into the cement ground.
Nya ended up calling them, and within the next few hours they were loading onto the performers bus. It was fancy, with an old-fashioned style that reminded Zane of some of the pictures his father had kept as the final remnants of his life before the forest. The name of the company was painted in large, stylized letters on the side. It was a large vehicle which was separated into both a living area for the performers and a room for storage. The ninja were given the storage room for the night, since it had ample floor space and would allow them to stay separate from the performers and slightly more hidden.
At this rate, they would likely arrive sometime in the early hours of the morning two days from now. They all decided to get some sleep and talk through the plan later. The pair of kind magicians they were riding with gladly lended them enough bedrolls for the group, even if they avoided Cryptor.
Cryptor still refused to talk amongst the group aside from some growling and threats whenever they got too close. It honestly made Zane feel terrible, seeing the way he would tense when approached, as if preparing to defend himself from an imminent attack.
Oh, how he wished he knew how he could comfort him and show him that he was safe among them. That everything would be fine if he just let himself relax and let go of his remaining loyalty to the Overlord.
Some part of him had foolishly hoped that the Techno Blade would "fix" Cryptor. That it would transform him from a soldier of darkness into a free droid, unblemished by his time under the Overlord and ready to start his own life beside Zane. A part of him wished that had been the case.
Another part of him couldn't help but think of his own father taking his memories away to spare the pain of loss. Maybe it was good the blade hadn't erased Cryptor's past. Maybe he was being selfish, wishing for someone else to change in this way. How could he know that he had done the right thing?
He sighed, lost in his thoughts as he gazed down at the bedroll he was making. Cryptor had retreated to a corner, glaring at them with hard eyes as the ninja prepared for the night.
"Hey." Cole's quiet voice knocked him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to meet the somewhat worried eyes of his friend. "I want to talk." Cole finished, motioning for Zane to follow him to the front of the caravan.
He followed without argument. It was odd that Cold would ask to talk to him separately. Usually the team felt safe talking openly with each other, and the way Cole seemed to be caught in his own thoughts as they walked didn't bode well either. Whatever he wanted to say, it didn't look like he was excited about it.
He led him to the front, closing the door between the spaces.
Yeah, this was definitely either important or embarrassing, and based on the mood it would not be the latter.
"Ok, we need to talk about the robot."
Zane blinked, trying to process the words. "... you will need to be more specific. There are multiple robots, all of which are of some importance to our current situation."
"Cryptor, Zane. Y'know, the guy who threatened to tear off your arm not even thirty minutes ago?" Cole gave Zane a hard look, before sighing and shaking his head. "Look, I talked to Lloyd and Kai earlier. I know what Cryptor did, and I don't think it's a good idea to let him just be around us like this. Obviously, we have no way to really control him now but-"
"Control?" Zane cut him off. "I understand your concerns, but he is not to be controlled any more than you are. He is a person, and he has only just been freed from the Overlord."
"You know that's not what I mean, Zane. You've seen the damage they can cause, and we can't prove his threats are empty. If anything, he's proven they're very real!"
"He shouldn't speak like that and he shouldn't have attacked me, yes, but he was a pawn to the Overlord. It will take him time to adjust."
"Zane! I know you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he was programmed by the Overlord and we have no way to prove how those blades actually work! He's dangerous."
"He is no more a weapon than I, and he has not harmed us yet. I agree that we should keep an eye on him for his sake, but it is not necessary to make him feel like a prisoner."
"Zane, your safety is more important than his comfort, and so is ours."
Zane stepped back, frowning. Cole was right, he would always prioritize the safety of his friends, but he was sure Cryptor wouldn't hurt them if they showed him kindness. He may return hostility, but kindness could save him.
"Hey, Nya accidentally tripped on Cryptor and now he's threatening to peel off her fingernails or something." Jay called, opening the door. "She is not backing down and I may need backup."
Zane shot Cole a pained look, hurrying back towards the door.
…
It was dark, and he could feel weight pressing down on him from all sides. Voices echoed around him, but he could not understand what they were saying. It was like he was underwater, but instead of a peaceful lake he was surrounded by a world he couldn't see or comprehend. He knew it was there, but there was nothing he could do with its presence.
After a long time in this darkness, blue light seemed to filter in slowly from around him. It slowly illuminated what looked like the ghost of a city. He was high above it, suspended by nothing but air. The streets were monochrome and empty. It was like Ninjago but devoid of all life and color. Cold and still as an old corpse in the depths of winter.
When he looked at himself, he found a similar unfamiliarity in what should have been familiar. Fog seemed to be filling his mind, making it nearly impossible to focus on his own dull limbs. As he tried to focus, it almost felt like his visible skin was not his own. It almost felt like it was only as much a part of him as a jacket or shirt, detached and impermanent. Why did he feel like this? Where was he?
Who was he?
He was Zane, he knew that. Why did it feel like a question? He was Zane. He was Zane, a ninja of creation and the son of Dr. Julien. He was a robot, he had been the only nindroid but now there were more. He had a family, and he was known. He was loved by millions, and he would return that favor with his life if he had to.
He tried to move, to command control of his body in this strange landscape. At first he did not think it was working, but soon the world almost seemed to sway around him. He couldn't see how, but he was traveling closer to the city now.
He could see new ways it was different, where buildings were destroyed and vehicles lay abandoned and crushed. In the middle, the once great Borg Tower lay in ruins.
This wasn't just a copy of the world he remembered, something had happened here. By the looks of it, something big.
He dropped down onto the still-standing ruins of Borg Tower, the gash allowing him to look straight into offices and glimpse a factory beyond. Claw marks scratched along the floor, leaving it dented and rough.
He walked for a while, unsure where he was going. Some of it was familiar, but other parts were twisted and bent beyond recognition.
Eventually, something caught his eye. It was a computer, just like any other in its complexity, but the screen was lit. As he moved closer, colors seemed to swirl over it, standing out sharply against the gray world.
Gold whirled together against a blue background, forming a shape. It almost looked like a large skeleton, the ribs that would cage in vital organs sharp and connected by a stiff spine.
It also reminded him of a spider.
He reached out a foggy hand, touching the screen lightly. It feels warm, comfortable and familiar in an odd way. It reminds him of late nights in the monastery and warm dinners at the bounty, surrounded by friends and magic. It reminded him of a young Lloyd holding back tears when he learned of his destiny. It reminded him of a darkness, driven away by an unspeakable light that could both warm you in winter and burn you to ashes.
This was the kind that burned.
He pulled his hand back, but it was too late. Gold was leaking from the screen, consuming the room in its glow and blinding him. He could feel his skin cracking under the heat, pain flaring through him as electricity arced within him and burned through his body.
He couldn't think or feel anything aside from the pain. Somewhere inside him, he knew he could escape it if he wanted. He could give up somehow, but he couldn't. Zane didn't give up, not when it was important.
He saw eyes in the golden light. Purple and sharply slanted like wolf's. They were accompanied by a voice, screaming in agony similar to his own.
The light only got brighter, until he could see nothing at all. Until he was forced to let go.
Until he died.
…
Zane woke up gasping, trying desperately to pull air into his diaphragm and over his processors. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't seem to make a sound. He couldn't see or feel anything. It was like the beginning of his nightmare, and that only served to scare him more.
Awareness came back slowly, his sensors taking longer than usual to power up and reconnect. He could feel the hard ground first, the blanket failing to shield him from the rough grain. Sound returned next. He heard voices, but not near nor clear. When his vision started to return, there was no one in his direct line of sight.
He felt terrible and afraid, and the memories of his dream continued to flash through his mind. What did it mean? Was it a prophecy? What was coming?
He pushed the panicked thoughts aside and looked around slowly, hoping to find his friends. The room was mostly empty. Cryptor was still there, awake and curled against the wall. He was staring at the door with the mobile side of his face angled away. He probably had not slept all night. Zane tried to speak, but he found his voice caught in his throat. Why wasn't his body working? It wasn't uncommon for him to wake up slowly if his systems needed a reset, but in combination with his nightmare it felt like his systems were still catching up.
Cryptor's gaze turned to him, attracted by the movement. His visible eyebrow raised. He watched Zane for a moment before shaking his head and motioning to the door.
Zane turned his attention to the door and the voices that were filtering through it.
The speech became clearer as he listened, his senses reawakening after their shock. Despite the wooden door in the way, he could make out the words relatively clearly. There wasn't much room in the caravan, after all.
“I just don’t know what to do, did you see how he was acting when we pointed out that we have no reason to trust him? I swear Zane hardly ever gets annoyed, let alone angry!” That was Kai.
“Yeah, and why? Just because it’s another robot? He’s way too invested, what’s going to happen when he betrays us?” Cole.
“I don’t know guys, I don’t like it either but… you saw what the Techno Blade did, it would make sense that if it can hurt the Overlord it can free his soldiers. He hasn’t been acting evil.” Jay’s voice.
“Yeah, but… He hasn’t really been acting like much of anything. What if he’s just here to spy?” Kai again.
A sigh.
“I don’t know, I think we should be careful about Cryptor but you’re right that Zane has been very… emotional about everything.” Nya.
Zane narrowed his eyes. He was unaccustomed to the intensity of the feeling eating at his processor, but he could recognize it. He was… angry.
They were talking about Zane and Cryptor, and they didn't even feel the need to include them in the conversation. He clenched his fists, feeling a wave of discomfort spread through his processor at the thought. Cryptor didn’t need hostility, he needed help! He wasn’t under the Overlord’s control anymore, and he definitely wasn’t going to betray them! He'd already talked to Cole about this last night, how had he missed the point so terribly?
Zane got up slowly, stretching his limbs to check that all the joints were functioning correctly. He could feel Cryptor's eyes on him as he walked to the door, opening it without warning.
He was met with looks of surprise as his friends nearly jumped at the intrusion. He noticed the shock morph into guilt as they took in just who had interrupted them.
“Do you think he heard us?” Jay asked quietly, letting out a yelp when Nya whacked his arm.
“Yes, I heard you.” Zane said, calmly as he could. He pushed the door away, letting it hit the wall as he glared at them. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk about things that concern me without my input, or things that concern Cryptor without his.”
Kai sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. His hair had obviously not been gelled that morning. “You’re right, sorry Zane. We’re just worried about you.”
Zane ignored him in favor of glancing over at Cryptor. He was watching still, his appearance almost curious. It made Zane feel self-conscious. Why did his friends have to do this?
“You have not been fair to Cryptor. He needs help, just as Lloyd once did.” Zane said, turning back to make eye contact.
“Zane, you’re being unreasonable! It’s not like we want to throw him out or anything, we just don’t think it’s smart to get attached so quickly when we don’t even know him!” Cole said, just a bit too loud. “He’s not like you or Lloyd, Zane! He was made by the Overlord to be evil! He's dangerous!”
Zane’s eyes narrowed. He was trying to remain cool, but it was rather difficult when nobody would listen. ”I will not treat him like an enemy. He may have been programmed to follow the Overlord, but programming can change. I will not let you ruin that.” He grit out.
“Zane, you’re supposed to be the smart one here! He can’t be trusted. He tried to kill you .” Cole responded, not backing down.
Nya rushed between them, obviously sensing this was not going to end well if it continued. “Zane, I understand that you want to help Cryptor and I agree, we should do everything in our power to help him. But Cole is right, too. Saving Ninjago will always come first, and we still need to find out what Cryptor knows.”
Zane was about to continue arguing, when a low, crackling voice drew everyone’s attention to the darker side of the caravan.
“I will help you.” Cryptor was still sitting against the wall, the only sign he was awake being his dimly glowing eye. “I can not return to the Overlord, I am a traitor to him and the rest of the nindroids. If you can protect me, I will help you.”
Zane’s processor ached, there was something in the hollowness of the nindroids voice that hurt. It had lost the edge of hostility it used to have, only to be replaced by nothing.
"... well, I guess that solves one problem." Kai said, chuckling uncomfortably.
Jay ignored him and stepped to the front of the group, watching Cryptor. “Ok… We will protect you. What can you tell us about the Techno Blades?”
“If you have all four blades and access to the Overlord’s physical drive, you can use them to destroy him. That is why they were a priority. The physical drive was at Borg Tower, but they will not let you access it again.”
“That's actually incredibly useful. Now we know why the Overlord wanted these so badly.” Kai said, gesturing at the instrument case the weapons were hidden in. "That is, if he's not just making it up to gain our trust."
“That's a part of the problem! How do we know anything he says is the truth? He could be lying. Maybe bringing the weapons to the Overlord will just make him more powerful or something.” Cole said. His arms were crossed and he was glaring at the floor.
"Well, my apologies for helping. I guess I'll just kill you next time I get the chance and hope the Overlord feels forgiving." Cryptor grumbled.
"Yeah, Zane, I see what you mean. He's real nice when you get to know him." Cole said.
Zane might not be the best at understanding sarcasm, but even he could tell that Cole did not sincerely mean his words. It hurt him more than he would admit.
“I will not listen to this.” Zane said, turning away from the group and walking over to his bedroll. He glared at Cryptor out of the corner of his eye. He wouldn't blame him for his rough edges, but he wasn't exactly making it easier.
“Fine.” He heard Cole mutter, along with something else he couldn’t make out. The door closed with a bang, cutting him and Cryptor off from the rest.
Zane ignored them, instead looking at Cryptor more clearly now. The headset that concealed the right side of his face was still in place, and he had not taken his mask off either. He wondered if they were attached for a moment, before pushing the thought aside. It didn’t matter.
His sensors were still aching from the fight, and he knew that now that everyone had a night of sleep Nya would likely want to start repairs soon. He didn't know how he felt about spending time with her right now, but he knew he would need it.
Cryptor flexed his hands slightly, and Zane noticed him wince.
“How are you feeling? Do you require repair?” He asked, smiling softly at the nindroid. It made sense that Cryptor would also be in some pain, especially if he did not have the same self-repair functions Zane did.
Cryptor tensed. “I am functional.”
“Are you certain? I also require repair, and I am sure there would be no problems seeing you at the same time.”
Cryptor eyed him for a moment, before growling and looking away. "Are you certain about that? It seems like they may just unplug my processor so they don't have to worry about me. Which is fair, I would do the same."
"I would not let them hurt you, and they would not go that far."
Cryptor huffed, looking up at him more intently. “What is it that you need fixed exactly? I am not the most proficient technician, but I have the knowledge and capability to complete simple repairs. I caused the damage, I can likely fix it."
Zane could feel his processor heating up oddly. “Well, I have several lacerations in my skin. They are self healing and cause little problem, but my access panel was also severely damaged. I fear I may have also received injury somewhere in my internal systems, but I am unable to accurately assess it.” He answered.
“I can scan you.” Cryptor said. “I also have a setting for melting and repairing metal and electrical connections, if that would help.”
Zane blinked. “Yes. That would be helpful.” He could feel his face flushing slightly.
Cryptor’s eyes glowed for a moment, scanning up and down Zane before dimming again. “You are correct. Your damage seems mostly minor, but your access panel needs to be repaired and you have exposed wiring that seems to be shorting out. This is something I can repair, though your lacerations I can not.”
“That-that would be very kind.”
Cryptor just stared at him, his eye narrow. After a moment he repositioning himself towards Zane. “May I access your panel now?”
“Oh, sure.”
Zane opened the front of his gi and let Cryptor scan it more closely.
The lacerations in his synthetic skin had long since gelled over with a thick, red substance, filling in the gaps and protecting delicate sensors from the harsh environment. The cuts from his most recent battle were still shiny, but the older ones were darkening well, pulling the damaged skin tight as they dried into something resembling a dark scar.
"You are aware that this could be a trap. If you give me acess, I could use my laser to burn a hole through your processor, or I could simply tear it out by hand. It would be easy." Cryptor growled the words, his eyes dark in a way that suggested he was already imagining the delicate circuitry crushed in his grip.
Zane shrugged. "You could."
"I am Cryptor. The Overlord made me in part to kill you. I came close to succeeding in this goal. Why aren't you afraid?" Zane's response had almost seemed to make Cryptor angrier, burning away his previous calm and leaving him tense, like a wild animal backed into a corner.
Zane took a deep breath, weighing his next words carefully. "I can not answer your question with the full truth, because I do not know, but I do know that I would rather trust you and be wrong than lose a moment with you to unfounded suspicion."
Cryptor's hand twitched, his eyes narrowing. "Would it be unfounded?"
"I guess I will find out."
Cryptor did not seem happy with that answer, but it seemed his moment of aggression had passed with the words. He hesitated for a moment, and Zane watched as his hand flexed and his eyes left his to focus on his chest plate. Cryptor finally reached forward. He had to move the panel where skin was wedged in the hinges, which caused more of the gel to collect and flow as still unhealed cuts were agitated. Zane winced at the pain.
“Apologies. Despite being aware of your unique design, I have never had to work on a nindroid with synthetic skin of this nature.” Crypter said quietly, using one of his sleeves to remove the glue-like substance that had crusted around the hinge.
“Do not worry. The pain is only minor.” In truth, Zane could barely pay attention to the new input from his sensors. Cryptor was so close. He had asked to help Zane, and even after their brief standoff he was being so careful about it. It was true that he could likely kill Zane, but he had heard him and was choosing not to. Zane was sure his processor was going to melt.
“I am now going to start welding the hinge back together. It may hurt, and I suggest you notify me if you feel anything that could signify damage to your systems.” Cryptor said, purple light illuminating his face as his laser activated.
Zane nodded.
It did not hurt as badly as he might have expected. Cryptor was obviously using a different setting than the one that was used to attack, and although he could feel an uncomfortable warmth in his nearby sensors the pain was minimal. He couldn't imagine it was as precise as a handheld laser would be, but he had decided to trust Cryptor and he was not changing his mind now.
After the hinge was fixed, Cryptor moved to his internal systems. He notified him that a knife must have been forced through the seam, and there were wires that would require repair.
This hurt significantly more, as it often did when electrical feedback was altered. But, soon he felt the pain he had been in since his last battle start to resolve as the connections were redone and the shorting wires separated. He let out a sigh of relief when his entire left side seemed to stop aching, his processor no longer getting false feedback from the crossed connections.
“Thank you, Cryptor. I am feeling much better now.” Zane said, as Cryptor finally backed away from the open panel. It was true, now that his sensors were reading more clearly it felt like a weight had been lifted from his limbs.
“It is a part of my standard procedure. All nindroids are made to be able to work in assembly as well as battle. You should not feel gratitude.” Cryptor said.
Zane smiled, feeling his chest warm up despite the open air currently cooling it. “And yet, I do feel gratitude for you.”
Cryptor seemed to ignore his words, instead looking at something in his chest.
“Interesting, when I did the scan I knew I was sensing powerful energy from this region, but I was unable to identify its function. It does not match any description in my database.”
Zane glanced down, seeing the blue glow emanating from his upper left. Ah. “That is my power source.”
“From what I know of your design and history, you were built using what would have been available. Scrap metal and wire, lab equipment. Most parts I can name or recognize the components of, but I have never seen anything like this.” Cryptor’s hand was hovering over the blue component, which pulsed lightly as the patterns shifted within.
"I am afraid I do not know what it is, either. I have seen my blueprints, but it was not present in them."
"Hmm. May I touch it? I may be able to discern more of its properties." Cryptor asked, not taking his eyes off of the power core.
Zane didn't want Cryptor to stop asking questions or move farther away, so he didn't hesitate to nod his consent.
A moment later, static exploded over his vision and hummed in his ears, and he saw the nindroid pull back. It hurt terribly, like fire radiating out through all of his sensors until he could feel every wire burning. It didn’t last long though, and although his chest was still heaving as he tried to use air circulation to clear the excess warmth from his system, the acute pain had died down before he could even fully comprehend it.
Cryptor had backed away, his eye wide. Zane could imagine the code flying through his processor as he tried to figure out what happened. He was also holding the hand he had used close, the synthetic skin pressing into his chest protectively.
“Are you ok? Is your hand hurt?” Zane asked, pushing aside his own pain.
Cryptor looked surprised by this, then his eye narrowed suspiciously. “I hurt you. You are not angry.”
“Of course not.” Zane smiled. “Neither of us knew it would do that, and it does not hurt now.” That wasn't entirely true, but Cryptor didn't need to know that his sensors still felt somewhere between flaming and painfully numb.
Cryptor was looking at Zane intently now, as if he was a type of bug he had never seen before. “You are… very different, Julien.”
“We’re all different, but I don’t feel so different when I’m with you.” The words felt right as he said them, the honest truth. He may have not known Cryptor for long, but he knew that his presence alone seemed to make him feel, although not more human, so much less alone.
Cryptor seemed to pause for a moment, like a computer buffering, before he stood up.
“I am not different.” His synthesized voice had none of its usual intonation, instead sounding dull and emotionless. “I am 0001, one of 109 nindroids currently in active use. The Overlord made us to be the same, and it would be a failure to be anything else. I am not different."
Zane was still for a moment, before he registered that Cryptor was moving away and rushed forward, stumbling slightly on still tingly legs.
The other nindroid just gave him an emotionless look. "Your repairs are complete.”
“Wait-” He started, grabbing Cryptor’s metal hand with his own. He met Cryptor’s eye, wishing he could somehow communicate how much he had meant what he said.
Before he could even try, though, the door open and his attention was drawn to Kai. His mouth was open to say something, and his eyebrow was raised quizzically. The red ninja seemed to think for a moment, before shaking his head as if to reset his thoughts. “I don’t want to know, actually. I just wanted to check on you and let you know that we can see the storm on the horizon now.”
“Ah. Thank you.” Zane said automatically.
“Yeah, um, we’re going over the plan for when we get there, and I figured you would want to be involved in that.” Kai finished, shifting his weight a bit awkwardly.
“Yes, you are correct.” Zane regretfully let go of Cryptor’s hand, beginning to make his way to the door. He didn't know if he was ready to face the others' earlier words, but he knew he at least needed to participate in this. He would never forgive himself if one of them were harmed because he had refused to prepare.
He would have to talk to Cryptor later. Maybe his thoughts would be more clear then.
…
The connection had been weaker than before, reshuffled and encoded as though to make it all the harder for her to rekindle. Pixal took this in stride though, if Cryptor was with the ninja and she could track his signal they wouldn’t stand a chance. She had also told the Overlord she could do it, and she would not fail him again.
They had already lost one general, they couldn’t afford to lose another.
Even with the change, she was soon able to grab ahold of the familiar thread that would lead to Cryptor. Out of all of the nindroids created by the Overlord, he was the oldest. They had spent months working together as the rest of the army was formed, and she would still recognize that signal anywhere, no matter how fractured.
She brushed her thoughts aside. She knew well that pathway only led to bitterness, and as much as she may have to destroy Cryptor, it would only cause her processor to stutter if she let long suppressed emotion guide her hand.
She would not take joy or pain in the death of the traitor. That was not her place.
Pixal took a sigh, finally letting the outside world disappear as the Overlord took his place in her vision.
“I hope you have good news, General. For your sake.” The voice seeped through her uncomfortably.
“Greetings, Lord. I was able to track the connection, and I believe I know where the ninja are heading.”
“Good. Maybe you are better than the average pile of scrap. Continue.”
“They are currently traveling towards the eastern desert, specifically a location often referred to as “the Storm of Creation.” Legend says the storm has been active since the beginning of Ninjago, and that it is where the element of lightning was originally summoned into our world. Most importantly for us, it is where we harvest all of our power.”
“I trust you are following them?”
“Yes. I can not track their exact location, but I have set up checkpoints along all of the main routes traversable by vehicle and I will be arriving with the majority of the army at the power plant soon. If they do plan to shut it down, they will be stopped.”
“Good. I look forward to the news of their capture. How is the new model performing?"
"As expected, lord. There have been no glitches or connection errors since boarding."
"Good. Don't disappoint me, General”
The voice faded out, and the interior of the jet she was currently in returned to her. Beneath her, the ground was nothing but sand and sparse grasses that barely held on through the dry heat. Ahead, a great wall of clouds stood, stretching endlessly against clear blue skies. They were dark, with blue lightning visibly sparking through them. She could almost feel the electricity in the air as they drew nearer, excitedly waiting to light her very circuits on fire at the first chance it had.
Her current partner in the cockpit beeped at her, notifying her of their position. Mindroid was the only truly unique nindroid aside from herself and the white ninja, and the most recent of the Overlord's line. She had been assigned to supervise their performance as the most compact and efficient nindroid ever produced, and this would be their first real test.
It had been a long time since she had to run a prototype to its breaking point, and she had never been in battle with one before. The code would be similar to the other nindroids though, and that should prevent any unpleasant surprises. She had never liked working with unproven minds, they never knew their place and couldn't seem to deal with pain.
She could only hope that Mindroid wouldn't be like his predecessor.
In only a short few miles, flight would be far too dangerous and all soldiers would have to be loaded into the isolated vehicles below to protect them from the crackling energy.
She watched the light draw closer, as the world seemed to visibly dim. Checking that her signal was still strong despite the looming storm, she sent a quick message to the rest of her fleet to notify them to prepare for loading and make all final preparations.
It was time to enter the storm.
Notes:
I hope the length of this makes up for how late it was! I really appreciate how so many people have checked out my story, and I love sharing it! I'm not going to promise as regular updates as before, because so much has been dragging me down lately, but you have no idea how excited I am for upcoming chapters! That said, I want you all to know that writing this chapter was an experience. There is just something so awkward about repairing what are essentially somebody's internal organs while they are conscious, It's like, ok guys you just met I think we should slow down a bit, there is no real human equivalence for this but it feels awkward fjjsafk. One of the weirdest scenes to adapt, that's for sure! Like, scanning somebody's internal organs on your first meeting is bad enough, but you just quite literally touched the guys heart! Rude!
Also, finally actually posting art for this au! I drew the drawing linked below forever ago, but I just finished a drawing of Cryptor's current design and I have some stuff that's still too spoilery to post as well. I will post more on my tumblr in the near future under the appropriate fandom tags as well as my "to live is to change au" tag for organization. I'm really excited to finally show off my Cryptor especially, he's just so fun.
https://www.tumblr.com/mostlyinconvenient/730668037602246656/in-honor-of-the-next-chapter-of-my-fic-coming-out
Thank you to my poor beta reader, BadFeelin, who is just watching my drafts get longer with horror lol
Chapter 9: There are Dark Clouds on the Horizon
Notes:
Apologies for the wait. I hope this chapter makes up for it.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Zane looked around at his friends, fully taking in the tense atmosphere that had settled over the small room upon his arrival. Kai was trying to appear nonchalant as normal and was doing the best out of all of them, but even he was obviously weighed down by recent events. His shoulders were tense, and his hair had become frizzy over the last few days without his normal products or care routine. The other three were nearly in a huddle on the other side of the room and had obviously been having some kind of discussion.
Nya bit her lip nervously upon his arrival, looking between Cole and Jay with some undecipherable emotion and obviously trying very hard not to look directly at Zane. Cole had his arms crossed and was staring at the floor, not meeting anybody's eyes. Jay on the other hand looked directly at Zane and gave him a frustrated look, like this was somehow his fault.
The silence stretched on, the only sound being the muted rumbling of thunder and the shifting of wheels against the sandy road.
"So…" Jay was the first to break the heavy silence that had settled over them when Zane had arrived, "What, uh, what's up, man?"
Cole and Nya both facepalmed, nearly perfectly in sync with each other. It was slightly impressive how quickly they went from totally separate positions to mirroring each other. Jay blustered at the reaction with his usual drama, throwing his hands up for effect, "Oh, like you were doing any better!"
Kai cleared his throat, "Yeah, I hate to say it but Jay's right. We need to talk and standing around being tense isn't going to help us at all right now," he paused for a moment, "I mean, he could've been a bit less dorky about it, but I guess it is Jay we're talking about here so it could have been worse."
"Hey!" Jay said. Kai's words had worked though, and Nya and Cole were both snickering slightly at the interaction.
"Yeah, my brother's right, Jay. We're lucky you didn't ask Zane if he'd seen the weather or something." Nya said, giving her animated friend a pat on the shoulder.
"Yeah, and Kai is right about us needing to talk. We're going into something big, and we need to all be on the same page." Cole sighed. He was still smiling at his friends' antics beside him, as Jay pouted about being made fun of and Nya poked him unsympathetically, but his smile died well before it reached his eyes.
"I'm always right, you all just need to accept it." Kai said, "So, we've already got a bit of a plan in place of course, but since you weren't here we couldn't solidify it."
"Yeah, we have a pretty good idea of what these robots can do already, and we should be able to handle it without a problem." Cole picked up the conversation, obviously more in his element as they switched to talking about strategy. "The issue comes in our unknowns. We might get there and have free reign of the plant, but based on all the nindroid checkpoints we've had to cross I highly doubt it. If we get there and find an army, not only do we need to be able to get in to shut down the machine, but we also need to consider our retreat."
"Yeah," Jay said, "These nindroids run on batteries. We don't know how much they might have in reserve even after the storm can't be harnessed. All we know is it isn't infinite, like your power source." He gestured vaguely towards Zane.
Zane subconsciously lifted his hand to his chest. He nodded. He could see their problem. "Yes... Cryptor has been without a new charge for days now and he still seems to have sufficient power levels, the other nindroids no doubt will be freshly charged. Once we shut down the plant, we need to make sure it's not possible for them to simply repair it."
"Exactly!" Nya said, "Not to mention I'd also like to not get killed by a bunch of angry nindroids while we're at it. We either need to break the power plant so badly they can't fix it, or take them out of commission."
Zane grimaced at the implication.
Jay seemed to notice his hesitation, and rushed in to speak. "Now, there is one thing Nya and I think might be able to accomplish both of these objectives in the same stroke." He moved over to the wall, unrolling a scroll that had been leaned up against it and walking over to Zane. Cole and Nya followed close behind, though it was obvious they already knew what the scroll contained.
He showed the scroll to Zane, revealing a sketch of what appeared to be the plant from above. It was obviously not perfect, but based on what he knew it was likely as close as they could get to an accurate depiction without the real plans.
"This represents the main flow of power through the plant," Jay motioned towards a central point on the sketch, marked with a messy lightning bolt, "if we can somehow short this, we should be able to create a power surge that will disable all nearby electronics for an undetermined amount of time and totally obliterate any chance of getting the plant running again without a total overhaul."
Zane nodded, "and how far does this reach?"
"Luckily the effects should be mostly contained to the immediate area and power surges in the grid. We think it could affect as far as a 1000 foot radius, but we would want to stay a bit farther to be safe." Nya said.
Zane perked up at that, the nagging feeling that had been rising in his processor relieved, "so, Cryptor should stay with the caravan so they can keep their distance from the plant." Zane was glad that the radius wasn't farther, the caravan would need to stay miles away anyway and Cryptor would be safe, "what about our roles? I do not have the same understanding of this technology that Jay and Nya do, but I can record any plans we might need and relay them."
Jay gave him a confused look. "Uh, Zane? Did you not hear us? All electronics should be affected. If Cryptor's staying with the caravan, he'll need someone with him anyway and you're the obvious choice."
"What? No. You said it would disable nearby electronics for an unknown amount of time, yes, but I am sure my systems will be capable of rebooting without much trouble even if they are affected. You could be facing an army out there, I will not let you do this without me."
"Zane," Cole spoke up, giving him a hard look, "We aren't taking that risk. If this was one of us in danger, you know you'd say the same thing."
"You are in danger! You'll be risking your lives to do this, while I stay back just because of the possibility I may need to reset. It is not fair for you to put yourselves more at risk than we already are by leaving me behind."
Zane sighed as a cacophony of complaints raised from his friends.
"He kinda has a point." That made everyone turn to Nya. She didn't look happy and Kai looked almost betrayed, but she soldiered on.
"Look, I don't like it but we don't know what we're going into, and we can't really afford to leave one of our team behind. We don't have Lloyd, heck, we don't even have elemental powers! I'm the only one here who really fought without those, and even I used technology. I don't think it's fair to force Zane to stay behind, either. What if we don't come back?" She let her words hang in the air, and the effect they had was obvious in the silence. Jay practically looked stricken, and Kai looked a bit ill.
"Ok, then." Cole let out a breath. "What about Cryptor? Can we really just leave him here with the caravan? The magicians are just civilians."
"Why shouldn't we? He has only helped us since we got here and he had no reason to harm them." Zane said sharply.
"I know, and I'm not saying that's not worth something, but-"
"Zane's right." Kai said. It was his turn to be the center of attention now, and Zane couldn't help the feeling of appreciation that glowed in his chest. "Cryptor has shown some aggression, yeah, but so does Lloyd when you wake him up before eight o'clock in the morning. You know what Wu always said about making your enemy your friend? Yeah? Well Zane's the only one here who's really given that guy a chance, and when I walked in on them a moment ago Cryptor was the least defensive I've seen him." Kai chuckled before continuing, "I mean, what has he actually done since we've got him here? Threaten Jay a few times? Heck, I want to do that most of the time."
"Kai!" Jay yelled in offense, but based on his flustered expression as Nya started laughing beside him he wasn't actually that angry.
"Yeah… I get that I might be in the wrong here, but I'm just not sure if he's ready to be truly left alone, and I don't want to put that burden on civilians." Cole said.
Zane lowered his head, rubbing the synthetic skin between his eyes to ground his thoughts. He thought back on his time with Cryptor. He didn’t want to put the nindroid in danger so soon, but… what if they didn’t come back? Cole may have the wrong reasons, but he was right. They couldn’t just leave Cryptor on his own and out of the loop.
It was much to the entire room's surprise when Zane finally nodded. "You're right. He's been through a lot recently and you are correct that we cannot risk leaving him without a plan. It would be unfair of us to simply abandon him, especially if we do not return." As much as Zane believed Cryptor was his own person, it wasn't right to leave him alone now. They could not be certain they would be able to return to the caravan, and the isolation and uncertainty of being separated from the only people he had known outside of the Overlord's control may just cause him to suffer more. Maybe he was selfish, but Zane couldn't leave Cryptor fully alone when he didn't know if he'd be ok.
"Well, then what are we going to do?" Nya asked.
"What if… Well, we have some time, what if we used it to better see how Cryptor is doing? Zane's the only one here who really gave him a chance and I bet I can find something here for us to do that can help break the ice a bit." Jay suggested, gesturing to the cupboards that held the magicians entertainment and the old DVD player in the corner.
Nya giggled at that, “Jay, are you seriously trying to set up a movie night right now?”
“Hey, it’s not like we have anything better to do!”
"Y'know what? That's not a terrible idea, it would surely beat standing around worrying about everything." Cole smiled.
Jay whooped, throwing a hand up in victory.
Zane felt something heavy lift from his shoulders. Maybe they would be ok.
…
Cryptor didn't know how long he sat alone in the storage room but he didn't want to leave. He knew he wouldn't be welcomed into the ninja’s circle if he did decide to get up and see what they were doing. It felt better if he let himself pretend he was a true prisoner, anyway. It helped with the dark feelings that wormed their way through his processor and the fear that spiked dangerously when his eye caught on something red and harshly reminded him of Pixal and the rest of the nindroids.
He couldn’t rest. He couldn’t fight. He was frozen as his mind played back everything he had done and seen. Zane’s words still played in his head.
“We’re all different, but I don’t feel so different when I’m with you.”
His face had been so sincere, and all Cryptor could see was himself digging into Zane’s chest with a knife until those almost unnaturally bright eyes finally dimmed.
He wasn’t like Zane. He wasn’t like him at all. It made sense that Zane couldn’t see it, that he couldn’t see the darkness that still encased Cryptor’s heart. He obviously had none of that darkness within himself to compare and definitely none at the level Cryptor did. With Cryptor it was soaked so thoroughly into his creation that it practically soaked the air around him, turning it as still and lifeless as him.
Zane was so trusting and oh so very wrong. Cryptor would always be just another one of the Overlord’s droids, made to kill and be good at it. The white ninja might not see it, but it was obvious to Cryptor himself. If he had been ‘cured’ of that dark influence, then why had he attacked Zane? Why did his mind show him how he could kill each of the ninja in such detail whenever they were near? Why was every inch of him still painted with the Overlord's vision?
He clenched his teeth, rolling them against each other in a way that would be painful had he possessed nerves in the metal. As it was, they just caught and caused his jaw joint to shift uncomfortably.
No. The ninja were right about him being untrustworthy, but they were also wrong. He wasn’t dangerous. Not really. No. He was a weapon, but he was broken. He should have killed them in the desert or even before then, when the other nindroids were close and they had not yet escaped. Instead he had watched them and done nothing even as his data drives supplied him with all the techniques he needed to permanently disable them. What was wrong with him? They obviously hadn’t changed him so much that he had lost this ability completely, so why couldn’t he do what he was intended to?
He didn’t know and, Lord, he was so very tired.
The static growing in the air hadn’t been obvious to Cryptor at first, but the roaring of thunder was beginning to rattle the caravan with ever more frequency and it was now almost impossible to ignore. It gathered in the air around him, traveling through his sensors and anchoring itself deep inside his processor. It felt like he was just waiting for it to build enough and strike, waiting for the inevitable end that was soon to meet him.
The blue one was the first to distract from the hopeless and confused feelings collecting inside of him. Cryptor did his best to ignore him when he entered the room, but it soon became clear that he was not going to be leaving so easily as he watched Cryptor with an intent look.
Jay kept his distance at least, staying near the door. He was playing with something in his hands. It clicked as he moved it, actuating and de-actuating in a repeating rhythm.
“So…” The ninja started, trailing off for a moment. “Zane says you aren’t evil, and you haven’t tried to kill any of us since yesterday, which I mean, isn't the best record but it's a work in progress.”
Cryptor groaned–a sound that crackled like static from the center of his chest–burying his face in his crossed arms. “If you keep pointlessly blabbering, I'll break that record right now.” It was meant to be a threat, but his voice was muffled by his position. Honestly though? He couldn’t care at the moment whether the ninja were afraid or not. He was already a miserable failure of a weapon, what was another loss? Maybe if they saw him as more defeated than he was, he could still regain the upper hand and crush them.
He let himself enjoy that idea.
“I guess you have a point there.” The blue ninja chuckled nervously. “The others are just finishing some things, and I was hoping to be able to maybe diffuse some of this hostility. Hey, maybe I could make sure that your code is actually fixed and-”
Cryptor growled, lifting his head to glare at the ninja directly. “I will tear you in half if you or any of the other lousy ninja even think about touching my code.” His voice was so low he could feel it rumbling through his resonator, stressing the limit of its capabilities. He would be worried about it being unintelligible if it wasn’t for the way Jay shrunk away. His words may not have been clear, but he had been understood.
It took another moment, but Jay soon broke under his gaze, and took a step back towards the doorway. “Ok, point taken. Ju-just thought I’d try. I'll uh, we'll talk later.” He chuckled nervously. Cryptor growled in reply, sending him away even faster.
When the blue ninja disappeared behind the door, Cryptor stayed alert long enough to hear the voices. They were talking about him, about how dangerous or pathetic he was.
He couldn’t exactly blame them, he supposed. Either way they would technically be correct. He was pathetic, but even a bedraggled mutt still had teeth.
His internal clock told him that it had already been a few hours since he last saw Zane. It both felt like far too much and far too little. He found himself wondering if the sky would look different here, beyond these thin walls. He had only seen a sunset once, on his way to the monastery as he traveled over the mountain peaks. What would that reflected light look like in the electric skies? Would it even be visible past the flashing lights? He let himself drift into these thoughts, listening to the world rumble.
Cryptor could swear that the air was starting to spark. The ninja must have been taking advantage of the lack of checkpoints within the storm to avoid the storage room, since he had not seen them for a while now. He knew his relative peace wouldn’t last forever though, as they always returned. They were not so different from the cockroaches that always found their way into the factory: even if you couldn't see them, they were always near.
Before long the door creaked open to reveal the ninja. The blue one was carrying a box, followed closely by red with what appeared to be an outdated monitor. Cole and Zane were close behind, and it wasn't long before the blue ninja had managed to turn the old set on.
"Hey, Cryptor, did the Overlord let you watch bad romcoms?" Kai asked, pulling something out of the box that they had brought.
Cryptor narrowed his eye, unable to decipher the word. He had already told them far more than he should have, what more could they want? What kind of information were they fishing for?
"I do not believe so. I recognize the format you are using, as we had a department to convert outdated data storage, but I do not recognize that word."
"Wow. No wonder he's so grumpy, poor guys never even heard of "I Love Lucy"' Jay quipped, still messing with the media player. He seemed to have recovered from Cryptor's earlier words well. Just another reason these ninjas were cockroaches.
“Gosh, I wish we watched ‘I Love Lucy,’ I swear the only thing you ever put on is the worst telenovelas you can get your hands on.” Nya said, sticking her tongue out in mock disgust as she picked out another disk.
“Hey! You love the drama, and don’t even try to deny it!” Jay shot back.
“Not to mention that's Fritz Donnegan erasure. I swear that even Lloyd is tired of that movie at this point.” Cole joined in the teasing.
This was a rather odd turn of events. Cryptor watched as they bickered, using words he did not understand to describe the disks. What was happening? Was this another tactic to disarm him, or were they somehow communicating their plans in code? Their actions simply did not make sense.
Eventually, the bickering got less heated as they seemed to be coming to a consensus. Zane stood, holding two disks and walking over towards Cryptor, all of the eyes turned to him as silence filled the room.
Cryptor straightened his back and met Zane's shiny and disgustingly wet eyes with his own steely gaze. Finally it seemed they had decided to begin whatever torture or interrogation they had planned.
“I would assume this is your first time watching a movie, and as such it would be best if you chose between the finalists.” He held out the disks, showing the images and words on one side of them. One seemed to showcase some kind of vessel floating in a speckled darkness–water maybe?–as well as several images of what appeared to be people just standing in the foreground. It said what appeared to be a name on the cover, “Fritz Donegan.” The next had more familiar shapes, showing what seemed to be a city. What kind of test was this?! Cryptor tilted his head, unprepared for such a seemingly senseless question and uncertain on how to proceed.
“There is no wrong choice. One features adventure and romance, the other is a coming-of-age story about a family in the city. You do not need to choose based on any criteria other than what you think you want to see sooner. We can always watch the other at a later timd if you want.” Zane explained, gesturing with the disks.
He didn’t like this, there had to be some type of trickery disguised behind strange depictions of fake planets and… oddly muscular shirtless men. “What if I don’t choose?” He tried to make his voice as challenging as possible, hoping to cause some reaction he could analyze in those terribly detailed eyes.
“That is fine as well, as much as I would prefer if you had a say.” He seemed sincere , his eyes crinkled in the same way they always did when he spoke to the other ninja. What was this? Why did Zane have to be so nice all of the time? Why couldn't he just show his true intentions and put an end to this lie?
Cryptor reached forward, experimentally tapping at one while keeping eye contact with Zane. It was the one with the odd ship and darkness.
Now it was time to find out what the results of this strange interrogation would be.
“Yay! Fritz Donnegan it is!” the blue one erupted into cheering when Zane lifted the disc, making Cryptor flinch back. They were using the code he didn't understand again and he ground his metal teeth together and just
imagined
taking them on now, simply blasting them into charred lumps and bringing the ashes back to his Lord.
He wanted it so much but at the same time the image gave Cryptor the urge to wipe the thought from his mind and erase the entire pathway that had led to it, because it also made him ill .
The ninja pulled together their bedrolls, and set up a place on the floor in front of the old screen. Zane sat on the edge, and sent Cryptor a somewhat uncertain look as the others focused on starting the film.
They had given him space and it felt dangerous to approach. Whatever trap they had set had not yet clamped down as orchestral sounds emanated from the screens speakers like warnings. It would be foolish to get closer to them now… but something about the way Zane’s unsettling eyes stared into his had him slowly rising from the floor with the snapping of actuators.
He made his way closer in the same way a wild animal would, ready to bolt or snap at the smallest warning sign.
Zane only blinked, and the rest of the ninja just gave curious glances out of the corners of their eyes.
Cryptor got within a yard, crouching down in a tense pose.
“To be clear, this does not mean I like or trust you or whatever you are planning. I am dangerous, and you should know I will not go down without a fight.” He grumbled, narrowing his eyes at Zane's obviously ecstatic smile.
“Of course, you're a warrior as are we and I would never disrespect that.” Zane said, his eyes seeming to almost glow with energy. Cryptor doubted the sincerity, but he was too distracted by an odd warm sensation that had spread like a fire within his chest to care all that much at the moment.
There was no damage detected within him and his sensors were online and signaling correctly, so he would consider the odd feeling more once he was farther from the ninja.
Truthfully, Cryptor didn’t know how to feel about this “movie,” as they called it. As the majority of the ninja's attention left him and became truly enraptured in the screen, he felt considerably more confident. The ninja were near, but the sound of their conversation helped hide the thunder and the ever-present tension they carried no longer pulled at his processor.
Most disarming of all, Cryptpr found himself watching the movie.
It wasn't very good and he couldn't understand why they seemed so interested–though the mockery that erupted at some of the scenes told him maybe their judgment wasn't totally broken–in what seemed to be a totally unrealistic portrayal of events.
Fighting on spaceships with laser guns? Really? As much as he enjoyed the bubbling of biological flesh when a suit would get ruptured or the sounds of the explosions and collisions, it simply wasn't realistic.
It happened so gradually that Cryptor didn't even think to stop himself when he let out an annoyed crackle at an especially egregious scene.
“How come he is able to get his suit ruptured and survive? He is flesh the same as the rest.” he pointed out with a growl.
Cryptor was taken about when he was suddenly faced with an excited blue ninja. “Oh, that's because his pecs are actually so thick they just insulate him from damage! According to the comics, he's basically made of rock because he's so ripped. It's awesome! Not to mention they get to show off his abs for the cover.”
Cryptor blinked, self preservation long forgotten in the face of such stupidity.
“That's idiotic.”
“Heh! Told ya it was stupid, Jay!” Cole said with a laugh, flashing Cryptor a smile.
Jay was focused on Cole in an instant, already running into a rant about something Cryptor couldn't hope to understand.
Somewhere behind the overstimulating sounds and sights, Cryptor knew he was still in danger.
But somehow… at this moment, he couldn't help but feel safe.
…
“Hey, Cryptor. How are you feeling?” He let his eyes lock onto Zane’s. It had been a few hours, and most of the ninja were either asleep or near enough it didn't matter. Zane was smiling softly as he moved to face Cryptor more fully. He despised it. He wanted to ignore zane, to make it clear he would not be his friend or even communicate, but he couldn’t. He was too tired to fight it, and after so much stress and the hours of no pain or questioning he just didn't want to anymore.
Why did everything have to remind him how broken he was?
With that, he felt frustration rolling into anger in his processors, hastening the flow of electricity and giving him strength. He couldn't let them trick him, he wouldn't fall any further than he already had. He may not be able to please the Overlord, but he wouldn't dishonor his creator by being so weak as to be fully defeated by the ninja.
“I am functional.” Cryptor responded, looking directly into Zane’s eyes. He hoped it came off as challenging. “I am a captured enemy, not a guest, Julien. What are your motives?” Zane flinched at that, looking uncomfortable now.
“I am sorry. We can leave you alone and let you come to us when you are ready if you would prefer, I just thought…” He trailed off, gesturing to the movie and giving Cryptor a searching look.
Cryptor arched his eyebrow. His chest popped and crackled as he let out a short laugh. “What? That I wanted to talk about my feelings, or maybe that just because I haven’t killed you yet, I am suddenly your friend? I couldn’t care less what you thought, you were wrong.” He hissed, glaring. “I’m your enemy. Some downtime isn't going to change that.”
Zane seemed to shrink in on himself. Cryptor ignored the churning guilt he felt battling with his rage, it was just another sign of his corruption. He was too angry to be tricked now. Being angry made it easier to remember the Overlord’s will.
“I-I’m sorry. I just- Jay mentioned that near the power plant, the electrical storm is so strong it could damage most technology. I just wanted to check that you were ok.”
Cryptor’s anger was partially curbed by the reminder of the electricity that still hung heavy in the air around them. He had assumed Zane would also be feeling it, but it was interesting to know the humans were also aware.
“I’m not most technology, and your worry is dangerously misplaced. Why do you even listen to the humans at all when it comes to this? You're a nindroid, aren't you? Can you not feel the electricity in the air and judge for yourself?” Cryptor asked, watching him closely now. Now that he was looking, he noticed that Zane actually didn’t seem all that different, everything he could have assumed was caused by the storm could just be exhaustion or… nervousness.
Zane shook his head. “I can feel that there is electricity, and it is uncomfortable, but not so much as to cause me concern. I am well insulated, after all.” Cryptor could see blue eyes dart to his chest at those words, his open ribs visible where his gi was pushed to the side to reveal the laser.
Cryptor scoffed. “Of course.”
Zane just stayed there, seemingly waiting for Cryptor to say something else. He eventually gave up, opening his own mouth instead. “I also wanted to tell you that we are close to the center of the storm now. You will not be staying with the caravan. There are structures near the power plant that are far enough away that you will be safe there until the mission is over. We're expected to arrive tomorrow morning.”
Zane spoke far more stunted than he had before. Cryptor smiled.
Zane shifted closer to more directly meet his eyes, his next words quiet.
“You will be restrained and potentially disabled if you attempt to make any kind of contact with the Overlord's army. I know you can make the choice to be your own nindroid, but I cannot let you hurt my family.”
Though the white nindroids voice was strained, Cryptor could see there was truth in his words.
He nearly laughed at the threat. Finally, this idiot was recognizing him for the danger he represented. They knew he could harm them, as much as they pretended to be untouchable.
Zane’s eyes narrowed, no doubt trying to calculate his thoughts.
Cryptor nearly bolted at the sight
It reminded him of Pixal.
Pixal, the leader of the Overlord's army.
Pixal, who had been better than him and had taken his place.
Pixal, who he was surely speeding towards at this very moment.
Pixal, who would destroy him without remorse.
Just the thought of seeing her again made him feel sick, although he could not place why. He knew fighting her would be far worse than any ninja. Ninja liked to incapacitate, but she would fully deactivate him if it meant melting him down piece by piece.
“Cryptor?” Zane’s voice.
Cryptor had been staring at the white ninja. Zane didn't look threatening anymore, his eyes had widened again and his face was now lit with concern instead of threat.
The quick change also reminded him of Pixal. It reminded him of the way she could spend the day dismantling failures for scrap and then blankly respond to the inane questions of humans while walking the open floors.
He decided to voice his thoughts.
“What about General Pixal? I do not think you will have to worry about me for long if she finds out I'm near. I've seen her scrap robots with far less than an ax.”
Zane blinked a few times, seeming to process his words.
“May I ask what you mean?”
“No.”
There was another pause.
Then Zane's face softened. “You have my protection for as long as you need it. I will not let her hurt you. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
Cryptor shook his head. Hadn't Zane just threatened him? And now he promised protection? It confused him. Something about it crawled up his spine like a spider, whispering words he couldn't understand.
“How can you promise that? Why would you?” He gritted out.
Zane’s face was unreadable. “Cryptor, I'm sorry. I can not find a way to explain why that would be effective and fully match what I know. I simply do not have the vocabulary.”
Cryptor growled in frustration, letting his eyes flicker to where the credits were playing. He couldn't look at Zane any longer, not when his face was creased so naturally and his eyes were looking at him so kindly.
So sincerely.
Despite everything Cryptor had said, Zane seemed content to stay right where he was well into the night.
Cryptor let him. He didn’t want to talk anymore, and getting him to leave would likely only result in more frustration.
He couldn’t fall into the trap of fighting an unwilling enemy all night. He needed to reserve his power for the next day when they would be departing from the relative safety that the caravan provided. It would be up to him to stay safe and hidden, and there were no reassurances that the storm itself wouldn’t burn him out long before they had walked the remaining miles to the power plant.
There was also no doubt in Cryptor’s mind that he would be faced with Pixal tomorrow, and he would not go down easily.
He glanced at Zane out of the corner of his eye. The other nindroid was still sitting upright, but his eyes were closed and his face relaxed. He looked tired, not unlike the weakened humans Cryptor had seen, but there was something different still. His skin didn’t wrinkle in the exact same way a human’s would. His scars had not faded, and there were no blemishes from the gnats and bacteria that plagued human skin.
He may be modeled to be human, but this was still a robot. A collection of wires and metal hidden beneath a painted skin.
That unfamiliar warmth he still did not understand gathered once more in Cryptor’s chest. Another hardware check confirmed once more that it couldn’t be a physical malfunction.
The feeling was unpleasant, but it didn’t feel harmful. It felt like a warning.
Something pinged in his processor, a notification he had been ignoring for a while now. He pushed it aside, trying not to think of the effects their plan would have if it was successful. If this worked, it would mean he would not have to fear the Overlord’s wrath. That was all that mattered.
Notes:
Gahhhh writing these guys is hard I hope I got the characters right.
This chapter was hard to edit because it is an important bit of downtime that NEEDS to happen. Ninjago s3 moves with Pixal way too fast, and I need to really use the timeskips they give me to try and fix that as much as I can.
Anyway, it took a while but I genuinely think this chapter is better off for the time it took.
As always, a great big thanks to my beta reader BadFeelin for looking this over. I did NOT give him enough time to inspect the most recent changes, so I take full responsibility for any errors lol.
Also, sorry for not replying to comments. I got logged out for a while and then I just felt like it would probably be better to just finish the chapter instead of responding to everyone. Know that I have read all of them and they really do help me write. Again, sorry for keeping my robot fans waiting.
And finally,
Fly free Kong. You made me who I am and I hope you can finally explore every nook and cranny you couldn't reach in life.
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