Chapter Text
“Hot off the press! The mechanic is back, Ninjago!”
The Mechanic ran at Kai, hurling a ball of flame.
In a flash of panic, Kai grabbed the closest thing- which happened to be Zane- and pulled him in front, shielding him from the flames.
Zane only had a split second to realize what was happening before the fire singed his gi. He cried out as the heat burned his face and disfigured the metal on his torso.
The mechanic stopped and dropped back for another attack. Kai let go of Zane who stumbled. He saw the mechanic lunging for them and shot a blast of ice which enveloped the villain in a frozen block.
Zane’s hand fell and he turned to Kai.
“Why would you do that?!” He seethed. “He could have severely damaged my vital systems!”
Kai pushed him away. “Be quiet, tin can, we can just fix you later. Now come on, I’m getting a message from Lloyd. He wants us all at Borg tower.”
Zane scoffed before following the fire ninja. He couldn’t believe Kai would do that to him! And to call him a tin can out of malicious intent? What in the world?
Zane shook his head to clear his thoughts. He would grapple with that later. Right now, what Lloyd needed was more important.
…
As it turns out, the royal family of Ninjago had requested the help of the ninja. It turns out the Sons of Garmadon, a crime ring that has recently risen to power, had stolen the Oni Mask of Vengeance from Borg Tower the night before. Later that day the Emperor was to give a speech to reassure the Ninjago citizens about the Sons of Garmadon. They feared they would be targeted because the palace housed the Oni Mask of Deception and the SOG would try to steal it during the speech. The ninja accepted the request, and it went without incident.
Later, Princess Harumi, daughter of the royal family, invited them to stay to protect the Mask of Deception. They accepted and were later shown around the palace grounds.
That evening, Zane was sitting on the bed of Jay’s room. His chest panel was open as Jay poked and prodded at his inner workings and fixing what was damaged.
“Whew!” Jay said, wiping some sweat off his forehead. He shut Zane’s panel. “I’ve done what I could.” He looked down at the boiled metal of Zane’s exoskeleton.
“But there’s nothing I can do for that…” Jay trailed off.
Zane ran a hand over his mangled skin, feeling his blood boil as he recalled what happened earlier in the day.
Later that night, the ninja were patrolling the grounds.
“Okay,” Lloyd said. He rolled out a map showing an overview of the palace. “Kai, Cole, I want you two to cover the west wing. Jay and I will cover the east wing, Nya you get the southern side, and Zane, you get the north.”
Zane looked at the map.
“Perhaps it would be better if two of us covered the north wing and one on the East. By my observations, it would be more logical if we did so, due to the east side being more fortified than the-”
Lloyd huffed and turned to Zane. “Okay, you know what, if you know everything, why don’t you find the biggest tree in the forest and cut it down with a herring?!”
Zane was dumbfounded at Lloyd’s outburst. “W-what do you mean…”
“I don’t know, I saw it in a movie, but it’s a good idea if it gets you out of our way!”
Then the others turned and left, leaving Zane standing there, still trying to comprehend what happened. What did just happen? First Kai snapping at him, and now Lloyd?
-
Zane lay awake in bed, thinking over the events of the last two days.
“Tin Can”
“-It’s a good idea if it gets you out of our way!”
“-I’m tired of fixing him,”
He felt tears springing to his eyes remembering their words that had threatened to rip his heart in two. He rolled over and faced the wall. Would the SOG really be more accepting? Was turning against the side of good really a worthy price to pay to feel wanted? The first hug he had gotten in years had been from someone in a crime ring. Was the light really better than the darkness if the darkness would actually take care of him?
“I’ll give them one more chance,” sighed Zane.
He got up and went down to the banquet room for a glass of water. Not that he needed it, but simple things of that sort seemed to comfort him in times like this.
He walked through the entry of the banquet room and turned on the light, only to find Cole halfway through eating a whole chocolate cake to himself.
Zane stared at Cole, confused. He had told the team that he had given up sweets since Master Wu disappeared.
“Cole?” Zane asked. “What are you doing?”
“Eating cake…” He said nonchalantly.
“But I thought you said ‘My body is a temple’?”
Cole swallowed his bite of cake and threw Zane a nasty look.
“Zane, for the love of the FSM, could you please just shut up for once?!”
Cole hadn’t meant to be so harsh to Zane. He had been stressing out about this whole SOG predicament, and eating cake was his main coping mechanism.
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. That was it. Zane had enough.
Seething with rage, he turned and left. Cole was too fixated on his cake to notice.
It was true. His lifelong fear was confirmed. His brothers didn’t see him as equal. They didn’t care about him.
To Zane, they weren’t his brothers anymore. They were strangers- no- enemies.
He went up to his room and threw off his burnt gi. He found a fresh change of clothes, they were black and purple with only hints of white and pale blue. He donned them before picking up his weapons and opening the window. Just as he was about to climb onto the roof, he heard Lloyd’s voice.
“Zane, what are you doing?”
Zane turned to Lloyd, his blood boiling at the mere sight of his former teammate.
“Leaving.” Zane hissed. Lloyd looked at him.
“What do you mean, you’re leaving? You have a palace to protect!”
“Not anymore.” The former ice ninja growled. “You have a palace to protect. This is no longer any of my affairs.”
“What?!” Lloyd asked. “Why?”
Zane glowered at Lloyd, a look he had never seen from the once cool and collected nindroid. In Zane’s eyes Lloyd saw hurt, anger- and hatred.
“I quit.”
Before Lloyd could say anything, the nindroid jumped onto the roof and vanished into the night.
-
It wasn’t difficult to find the Bounty. She was anchored on the outskirts of the city. Zane jumped up on the anchor and scaled the chain before swinging up on the deck. Once on deck he ran to the sleeping quarters and took everything he owned and stuffed it into a suitcase.
“Zane, what are you doing?” Came Pixal’s voice
“Kai used me as a shield, Jay is sick of me, Lloyd pretty much told me to get lost, and Cole told me to shut up, I’m done, I quit,” seethed Zane
“Ninja never quit, I think you are overreacting,” said Pixal
“I should have known you’d side with them, you and I are incompatible after all,” said Zane leaping out the open window.
-
He had heard about the city, a long time ago. A place where androids and humans live together, not discriminating against one another, he quickly set out for a train. He dropped off in an alley, changed his clothes into civilian clothes, and went to find a train station.
Once he found it, he asked a captain if there was a train to the place he was seeking. The captain told him in was train 17, and he'd let him go for free since not many people even went on the train. He nodded as he made his way to the train, when they cars opened, he went in, found a seat, and waited for the train to take off.
-
"This is your conductor speaking, we are about to leave for "Synth Wave City" The home of droids and technology! Its a long ride, 3 hours! So take care!"
Same smiled, Synth Wave City, The home of droids and tech,where he'd be accepted. He kept his hood over his head, put his head against the window, and waited.
Chapter 2: Arrival
Summary:
Arrival to Synth Wave City
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
He woke up to the conductor speaking again. "We are arriving at Synth Wave City, come back any time!"
He got up and walked to the doors, waiting for them to open. When he heard the train stop, they opened. He saw many bright, neon colors and many more trains, with many more people getting off- he was the only one from Ninjago City. He began walking upstairs to get to the actual city, he saw families eating at food courts and getting on trains to leave for what seemed to be a vacation. He turned to see the final steps to the city, he breathed and then went up.
His processors and censors overloaded for a brief second leaving him blind, once his eyes adjusted he saw a bright neon city, with hovering cars on highways weaving through buildings. From the outside, it would look like any city, but on the inside, it was amazing. He began to walk along the sidewalks, seeing androids and humans living together. He blocks thoughts he was having out. He went up to scratch at his burn, and someone tapped on his shoulder after he did. He turned around to see an android, with dark hair, glowing neon blue eyes, and gray skin. She was wearing an outfit that looked like a uniform. "Hello." She said. "Uhm- hi." He responded, "I see you have a bit of damage on your back." "Oh yeah, accident." "Well if you'd come with me, I can get that repaired for you." "Uh- ok."
He began following her through many different sidewalks before they arrived at something called Velocity Enterprises- TEAR - Technology, Electronics, Androids, and Robotics. He entered into a giant lobby and followed this android into an elevator, and they went to floor 57. There were 60 floors in this building. They arrived, and he followed her in, he spotted a man, working on another android. "There ya go- that should be it." "Thank you, sir." The android past them and went to the elevator. "Mr. Acher." "Ah- Verixa, I see you found another android need for repairs?" "Yes, a bit of a burn wound on the back, he's made of titanium." "Ain't that interestin'. I'll see what I can do. Come here..." Uh, Zane." "...Zane." He followed him and sat on what seemed to be the repair table. He moved up his shirt and jacket to reveal the wound. "Hmm- it's fixable."
Mr. Acher got to work.
-
…
“Gone?! What do you mean he’s gone?!” Jay cried.
“He just left!” Lloyd told him. “I saw him going out the window. When I asked what he was doing he said he was leaving because he quit!”
It was the morning after Zane had unceremoniously left the other ninja. The other ninja didn’t suspect anything was wrong, that was until neither Zane or Lloyd came down to join them for breakfast.
Kai finished his stack of pancakes. When he saw that neither of them still hadn’t shown up, he got the feeling something wasn’t quite right.
“I’m going to find Lloyd,” Kai told the rest. They nodded silently as he got up and walked out of the room.
He went up the stairs to the living quarters and approached Lloyd’s room. He knocked on the door.
“Hey, Lloyd!” Kai said. “Come down and have breakfast with us!”
When there was no answer, Kai got even more suspicious.
Kai turned the doorknob and entered Lloyd’s room to find that he wasn’t there. He furrowed his brow in confusion. What in the world?
Kai searched the other rooms but still found no trace of Lloyd anywhere. Where could he have gone?
Suddenly there was a commotion downstairs. Kai ran to investigate and saw Lloyd standing in the middle of the others.
“Did you check the Bounty?!” Cole asked.
“I did! I-I can’t find him…”
“Lloyd!” Kai said, running to him. “There you are! I was looking all over for you! Where have you been?!”
Lloyd was bent over his knees, seeming to be out of breath.
“Lloyd?” Kai said. “What’s the matter?”
Lloyd looked up at him, his eyes wild with fear.
“Zane’s gone missing. I spent all night looking for him, but I can’t find a trace of him anywhere. It’s like he disappeared into thin air!”
“Did you check the Bounty?” Kai asked.
“Pixal said he grabbed his things and said that they were incompatible before he left.” Lloyd said. “She tried to locate him by his beacon but she wasn’t able to get a signal.”
Nya gasped. “Zane broke up with Pixal?!”
Lloyd shook his head solemnly. “Sounds like it…”
“Did he tell you why he left?” Lloyd shook his head.
“No! He just said that he quit…”
“He quit?!” Cole cried. “But why?! Zane doesn’t just quit!”
“I DON’T KNOW!” Lloyd yelled. “I don't know! I tried following him but he was too fast, and he wouldn’t answer me!”
“What are we gonna do?” asked Jay. “Without Zane, we’re so hooped!”
They didn’t have long to think of an answer to Jay’s question.
BOOM
Great. Just what they needed. A fight.
Notes:
The fight's gonna be offscreen I can't write fights Lmao.
I copied it- again- but no more I promise.
Chapter Text
"That'll do it." Zane heard as he opened his eyes as the old man retracted his tools. He looked back to see it completely fixed. "Oh, thank you," Zane said, as he got up and grabbed his bag. He got up and was about to leave as the old man said. "You're new here, aren't you?" Zane looked back and nodded. "Well, if you ever need anything, here is my card." A robot glided over and handed him a small card. "Thank you." He said, as he put it in his pocket and left. He exited the building walking out onto the streets as hovercars blazed past him, when the light turned red and the walk sign turned green he walked to the other side. He stared up at the huge buildings as it started to rain.
-The Ninja-
The ninja were cleaning up after the fight, and Lloyd's hand fidgeted. "Are we gonna talk about what happened or just sit in silence?" Everyone looked down and began to fidget. Lloyd stood up, "We can't just ignore it, Zane is gone! To who knows where!" The room was engulfed in silence again. "If I am going to be honest, we did start treating him worse..." Cole said as others began to nod. "Yeah, tensions were running high because of everything, and when we were fighting the mechanic I..." "And I complained about fixing him all the time," Jay added, as everyone looked down shamefully. Pixal said, "I should have tried to understand him better..." "Which is why you need to find him," Wu said, as he walked into the room as the attention went to him. "Zane is your brother, and no matter what happens, he is still your brother. You need to find him and apologize for everything you all have done. Even in dark situations, we must always support each other. You must find Zane and bring him back." "But how are we supposed to get him back when the Sons of Garmadon are running around?" Lloyd questioned. "We can't even track him, he turned off his location," Pixal said looking down. "Then find any trace of him, it is quite hard to miss someone like him, someone must have seen him," Wu said as he turned to leave. "Take all the time you need between finding Zane and defeating the Sons of Garmadon, even if you beat them without him, he is still your brother, and he needs you as much as you need him."
-Back with Zane-
Zane looked up as rain began pouring, people pulling out umbrellas to shield themselves. He let the water run down him, his stuff was waterproof. He started to walk down the street when an umbrella was brought over his head. He gasped as he turned around to see the old man. "Mr. Acher?" "I couldn't just let you walk in the rain, especially since you most likley have nowhere to go." He smiled softly at him as he nodded his head. "Zane, I have a proposition for you..."
Notes:
ive done it
Chapter 4
Summary:
I'm alive, this one took a while.
Chapter Text
-Timeskip to the end of Sons of Garmadon-
(Zane has been gone for a while- and they didn’t have time to look for him- no, I did not rewatch Sons of Garmadon for this. Oh, and also Mr.E escaped alive- he will be important)
-A few months after Sons of Garmadon-
The ninja started rebuilding the city from the destruction the Sons of Garmadon left. Picking up the pieces of what was lost. But then a bigger problem came up. They still haven’t found Zane. Zane was still missing since he left in the middle of the night. There were no signs of him anywhere they looked. All they knew was that he was still in Ninjago. Lloyd and the others were cleaning up on the streets of Ninjago, They had made some great progress with the city. However, everyone was still worried about Zane. They heard footsteps behind them as Sensei Wu approached them holding something. They bowed as he said hello. “We got a letter from somewhere called ‘Synth Wave City’ inviting us to join their progression celebration.” Wu showed them the invitation, which stated no reason for inviting them, just inviting them. “But we have lots more to do for Ninjago City!” said Cole. “The city is almost built back up. I’m sure it will be fine, plus, Pixel and some others will stay and watch over the city. But I think we all deserve a vacation after everything. Plus, it's fully paid for.” Wu said as he started walking back. They looked at each other and followed
They were on a train to Synth Wave City. It wasn’t that long of a ride, but they began falling asleep. Jay and Kai fell asleep first, just to be awoken a few minutes later by the others. They were approaching the city. The train stopped as they stepped out into a very colorful city. They walked out of the station, and they all covered their eyes from the bright lights. And hovering cars throughout the sky. They were approached by an android? “Hello, I am Verixa. We have been expecting you, ninja.” “Hello, you're an android? Yes, Synth Wave City accepts all people; it's a place where Androids can live with humans and other races in harmony. Now, follow me, I will lead you to the hotel Velocity Enterprises has provided for you.” She led them to a large hotel, they entered with the hotel staff nodding at Verixa. They got into the weirdly large elevator and headed up to their floor. She got them situated in their rooms and then told them she would come back in the morning and lead them to the festival.
The ninja got settled in their rooms and went to bed.
-The next day-
They got ready for the festival in their rooms. They went to the lobby to find Verixa waiting for them. They were taken to a large park with a statue being covered, and a long and large pedestal in front of it. They gathered around the front and waited for it to start. A few minutes later (and a very packed crowd), the festival started. An old man went onto the pedestal and started speaking. “Hello, I am Mr. Acher. The head of Velocity Industries. Thank you all for coming, it has been my dream to make this place a safe place for both tech and humans, and anyone else who decides to come here. But there are others to thank. People who have been keeping us safe, you all know them, the Cyber Guardians!” People then swooped out of the sky, there seemed to be about 6 of them. They landed on the stage behind the man. “Our own group of android protectors! We have Axon!” The one wearing a white and red-orange theme took off his mask. “Atlas!” The one with a white and teal theme took off their mask. “Xael!” The next one took off her yellow and white mask. “Zeno!” The next one with a black and white theme revealed itself. “And for their leaders- we have Xenara and Zane!” The ninja all froze as the last two with a blue and white and a purple and white theme, revealed themselves. Zane was amongst them. They all stared in shock at Zane. Xenara took the microphone and started giving a speech, with the others piping in and getting a turn. Zane then took the microphone. “We all hope to be protecting you all throughout the ages!” The entire crowd cheered. They all stepped back as their masks went back on as they flew off. The crowd died down as people began to leave. The old man was still talking with a few people. Wu took charge and walked up to him first. “Hello, Mr. Acher. I am Wu, and these are my students, the ninja.” “Why hello, you lot! It is nice to meet you all. We have heard so much about your efforts in Ninjago City!” “And we thank you for the invite, but we have one question… WHY IS ZANE WITH YOU?!” Jay said loudly, but not too loudly for anyone else to hear. “Zane came here a few months ago. Verixa noticed he was an android coming from outside the city. She also noticed that he had some damage on his back. She took him to me and we fixed him.” “But why is he a part of your ninja team?” Nya asked. “I have always wanted to make an entire group for protecting the city. I had some volunteers, but they didn’t really know what it meant to lead besides one of them. When I met Zane, I knew he was special. I invited him to join, and he agreed. They have been protecting this city for months, and they all seem to get along well.” The ninja looked down, their questions being answered. They then heard an explosion. They saw a hover car going very quickly, and causing chaos as a car went flying off the hoverway. One of the guardians swooped in and caught the car and set it down. They saw that some of the other guardians were gathered in the sky. “Xael! Go get traffic out of here! Everyone else, with me!” Zane said as they sped off after the truck. They approached the truck, Axon and Xenara on the bottom and Atlas and Zane on the top. They dropped onto the truck quietly and looked through their mirrors to see some criminals they had dealt with before. “Come on, these guys! Again?” Axon said. “Alright, everyone, get ready, Zeno now!” Zeno went to the right of the car and rammed it off the hoverway. The driver and the passenger were caught off guard and began to scream. Xenara and Axon caught the car before it hit the ground and set it down. The cops rode over very quickly and arrested the criminals. “Ya know, the good things about these criminals are that they choose the worst time to be criminals,” Atlas said, as they landed. “You can say that twice,” Zeno said. “Ya know, the good things about these criminals-” “You don’t need to keep that bit going, Atlas,” Zane said as they all began laughing. Zane then spotted the ninja and froze and looking away. The group put on their masks and flew off towards a large building. Mr. Acher spoke up, “Well, why don’t you come visit our main building for Velocity Industries! You can even meet them there. They would love to speak to fellow protectors!” “We would love to, Mr. Acher,” Wu answered for the ninja. Mr. Acher smiled as he called a limo with a human driver. They all got inside as they drove to the building. They were there very quickly as they stepped out in front of the large building. They entered a very large lobby entrance and approached and entered an unusually large elevator. They went up to one of the top floors and came out to a hallway. “Right this way, they're in their hangout room.” They approached some doors, and Mr. Acher opened them to let them in. There were voices coming from the room saying, “It has come down to two! Who will it be? Xael or Xenara!” The voice was Zane's. They entered as they saw them in an area where there was a TV hooked up to a game called Animechs Battle Bots. Two of them were in front of it, rapidly pressing on the controllers while the others were on a couch behind them. “It’s gonna be a close match- and OH! Finishing blow! We have the Animech Battle Bot champion! Give it up for Xael!!!” The others started cheering from the couch. “Well, game is game. Good job, Xael.” “Thanks, Xenara, way to be a team player.” Xael said as they shook hands. They heard them walking in and all turned to see them. “Sup Doc! Who do we have here?” Xenara said. The group then noticed how uncomfortable Zane looked. They shared glances and seemed to know who the ninja were. “Just some people meaning to speak with you all.” Mr. Acher explained, looking at the group. The groups stared at the teacher, neither daring to say anything.
Abysmal_Archivist on Chapter 1 Tue 12 Mar 2024 12:02AM UTC
Comment Actions
Abysmal_Archivist on Chapter 1 Tue 12 Mar 2024 12:03AM UTC
Comment Actions
VoidRift on Chapter 1 Tue 12 Mar 2024 05:09PM UTC
Last Edited Mon 18 Mar 2024 02:21PM UTC
Comment Actions
Owlkin9 (Guest) on Chapter 4 Fri 25 Apr 2025 10:58AM UTC
Comment Actions
Alt (Guest) on Chapter 4 Fri 25 Apr 2025 01:30PM UTC
Comment Actions
VoidRift on Chapter 4 Fri 02 May 2025 01:02AM UTC
Comment Actions