Zane
It had been a few days since Jay returned from his fight with those mobsters. He told everyone about it, and Flame had covered her mouth in horror, but he assured her that he was fine. They were all relieved he had been okay, but the bruises on his neck looked quite bad, and Nya grew especially worried. However, Zane thought the owner of the store, Carter, did well by giving him ice and warm water. Aside from Jay's injuries, everyone continued to train on the Bounty's deck, going at it three times a day. Flame showed up every session, clearly determined to train with them.
"Even if you prepare with us, we're still not going to allow you to come," Cole told her while aiming a blow at his practice dummy. Flame didn't say anything, but she screwed up her face in concentration while doing a roundhouse kick. "Yeah, I know," she said gruffly. Zane looked over. His expression was unreadable, but he had a deep understanding of how she was feeling. He remembered his creator—or his father—caring for him for many years. Dr. Julien taught him things other humans could learn. He was indeed a robot, but he was content with his father accepting him as a droid and a son.
Zane could faintly hear those words that meant so much to him...
You were built to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
He winced as he remembered his father lying on a bed, breathing heavily, his face covered with creased lines, his eyes empty. He had not wanted to forget about the man that had given him a chance at life. Zane had reached for his frail arm as Dr. Julien pressed his 'memory' switch, the droid's thoughts, feelings, accomplishments, all of it draining in seconds. The old man in front of him was not familiar anymore. Nothing was.
Years later, Zane had discovered his past. His beginning. Dr. Julien.... It was difficult to let those memories go, to let loved ones go. And Flame was going through that pain. It was pain he couldn't mend, though, and it frustrated him. And he knew it angered Jay, too.
"Lloyd, if I am correct, I believe we are leaving tomorrow, aren't we?" Zane asked the Green ninja. Lloyd nodded in response. Flame spun around, halting her training. Her green eyes flashed with alarm. "You're leaving tomorrow?!" she said loudly. Nya turned towards her. "Yeah... sorry we didn't tell you, Flame. We just thought it'd be best to not say anything in case—"
"In case what?" Flame said aggressively. "In case I would lash out in anger?" She stopped abruptly, realizing that she really was lashing out, but she merely scoffed and stomped to her room. Jay gazed helplessly at his sister, frowning. "We all agree that she's going to stay with Mystake, right?" he asked, mostly to himself than the rest of them. Kai answered. "Yup. Someone's gonna have to tell her that."
Nya volunteered to give Flame the news while Zane agreed to tell Mystake. He rushed to the front of the Bounty and descended the ladder, leaping off halfway and summoning his dragon. As the pale outline of his dragon appeared, frost glistened off its wings. Zane mounted mid-air, pointing at the direction of Ninjago City. His elemental dragon soared across the grasslands, eventually catching sight of tall buildings.
Once they had landed on the rough pavement, Zane dismounted and rubbed his dragon appreciatively. He thanked it, and it dissolved into cold, misty air, letting out a soft growl before it disappeared. Footsteps sounded behind Zane, and he turned to see Mystake exiting her tea shop, her arms behind her back. "Seeking me to ask a favor, I see?" she said wisely.
"Quite right," replied Zane. Mystake gestured him to enter her shop, and they both walked in, the Ice ninja looking curiously at some dried leaves and jars with strange ingredients in them. Remnants of what looked like chopped up wood was scattered on the counter, but Mystake quickly scooped them up and put them in another glass jar and set it on the shelf. Zane noticed a rather young boy peer from the back room, his round glasses slipping off his nose. He leapt slightly when Zane's bright blue eyes caught his, and he dashed around the corner.
"Don't mind him," Mystake said dismissively, waving her hand. "A curious one, but too young and nervous to take the first step outside. Anyways—" she turned to face him, "—what is your favor?"
"We—meaning me and the other ninja—want you to look after Jay's younger sister, Flame." He continued when Mystake furrowed her brow with question. "Sensei Wu has gone on a journey that we don't know about. He never gave us any details about it. It appeared really important to him, and he only explained that it would take a while; a matter of months." He tilted his head when the old woman sighed and gave a soft chuckle. "Typical Wu. Being vague as ever." She cleared her throat and told him to go on.
"This... this came as quite a shock, but... Morro has also appeared from Flame's bathroom mirror. It's unexplainable, and we are still unsure whether his story is believable, but we can't exactly think of anything else." Mystake adjusted her hat and thought for a moment. She looked up at him, her eyes sharp. "I have seen and heard many strange things, but that is out of the question. I don't know what to do about that situation."
"It's okay, though, Morro doesn't seem to be our enemy anymore. He's changed, but we are still keeping a close eye on him."
"Good. We don't want something similar happen to what he inflicted upon Stiix, do we?" she said darkly. Zane murmured agreement, then told her the rest of the plan. Finally, Mystake leaned back and said, "I am an owner of a tea shop, not a babysitter."
"Flame is capable of taking of herself," he assured her. "We just want you to be there to look out for her. She is still quite young and requires supervision." The old woman hummed thoughtfully, gazing into space for moments. "When are you departing?" she finally asked.
"Tomorrow," Zane replied.
"And you're prepared?"
"We've gathered materials, weapons, resources needed to survive, and we've trained."
Mystake hummed once more. Zane had the impression that that wasn't a satisfying answer to her. "And you're right. It isn't," she said with amusement. Zane was taken aback. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "How did you—"
"Hush, now. I'll care for the child if she helps around the shop."
Zane was about to make an objection, but he figured there wouldn't be any point, so he nodded. He stood up to leave, until he heard her say behind him, "The journey you take is a dangerous one, but I believe your teamwork will be the speck of hope within that dark force, a speck that converts evil into peace."
Zane turned to her, but Mystake had her back to the Ice ninja, organizing the cups and jars on the shelves. He walked through the door of the shop and summoned his elemental dragon. It roared, a haze emanating from its mouth, each of its teeth shining in the sunlight. Zane mounted it and it sprang up. Extending its beautiful, icy wings, it began to fly towards the Bounty.
. . .
Flame had calmed down when Zane returned, much to his relief. He was glad to see her feeling better. As they both settled down, he told her the news of staying with Mystake while they searched for their sensei.
"You'll be staying with her and helping around the shop," Zane explained to her. She crossed her arms and sighed. "Sounds fair," she said with a nod. Jay entered the room and sat on the wooden floor next to her. "Mom and Dad will come by to visit," he told her. "They'll still be busy at the junkyard, but they were overjoyed to hear that they'd be able to come see you."
Flame beamed at the news. "That's great! It's been a while since we've seen them," she said with a smile. Jay ruffled her bright orange hair. She let out a laugh and swatted at him with both of her hands, the Lightning ninja giving her a soft noogie.
A few hours had already passed, and night was approaching. What used to be a sky painted with light colors of red and maroon now turned dark, stars glittered all over the endless space, shadows slowly crawling across the horizon as the last rays of light disappeared.
Zane was sure everyone had gone to sleep. He didn't need rest; he was already fully charged. Instead, he sat down at the deck of the flying ship and gazed at the bright stars, counting them as they appeared, one by one. He focused on the bright specks over his head. They looked a lot like snowflakes. He unconsciously rubbed his hands together and formed small snowflakes, the ice gleaming on his titanium skin before melting away.
There was a sudden high-pitched cry overhead. Zane shot his head up and scanned the sky, looking out for any signs of possible danger. He relaxed when, after distinguishing the source of the noise, it was only his falcon companion that made the cry. Its purple feathers blended into the night sky, but its eyes landed on Zane, swooping in and landing on his arm, looking at him with piercing, yellow eyes.
It chirped as Zane scratched its feathers, giving a squawk of thanks. Zane smiled. They gazed at the stars once more, and Zane leaned on the smooth floor, closing his eyes at the sound of the flapping sails of the ship, the soft coos from his falcon, the wind swirling around him...
Wait...
The wind swirling around him...?
Zane shot up quickly, turning his head in all directions. But he wasn't fast enough to run from the shadows closing in on him. The nindroid yelled in distress when dark silhouettes grasped onto his mechanical limbs, sneaking onto his shoulders and fingers with smooth motion. He was being pushed down with such force, Zane was shocked to feel such power come from something that wasn't physical.
Long, pointed shadows climbed up his neck, pulling his head back to see the Master of Wind, standing before him with a wicked grin splayed on his face, his eyes glowing a violent shade of purple. Zane watched with a plummeting feeling in his stomach as the transparent teen raised his hand and waved them in the direction of the wind, making a rough gesture at the Ice ninja.
The gentle flow of the atmosphere quickly changed into a raging storm. It was force Zane had never felt before. The wind tore at his titanium skin, wrecking his face completely. Sockets and wires sprang out of his face, and he faltered when his control system was damaged.
"Morro..." he gasped when he was finally able to look up. "Why... are you doing... this?"
He attempted to freeze Morro, but the shadows held his arms down. He writhed with as much strength as he could muster, but the Master of Wind cackled at his useless efforts to move out of their hold.
"No matter how much you try, Ice ninja," Morro began, and to Zane's utter confusion and surprise, it wasn't a voice that belonged to him at all, "you and your team will never find your Sensei. And you most certainly will never defeat me!"
Morro flickered, and Zane saw, frozen with dread and terror, an enormous being made up of shadows and what looked like dark essence. Its eyes were the same vehement shade of purple, but much larger than Morro's. Extremely sharp spikes shot out from its spiny back, the ends of it the same color as its eyes. It opened its mouth, revealing long, pointed teeth with a filthy-looking tongue slithering out. It wore armor that covered the majority of its body, with wrist plates, a hard chest plate, and a helmet with a symbol that looked a lot like a shuriken.
With a last, vigorous push of wind, Zane flew off the Bounty, scraps of metal following him in an arc. He reached out to the sky, hoping he could be saved from plummeting to his death, hoping to catch sight of his falcon, but nothing was in his sight. The familiar evil laughter filled the night, and he realized with devastation that he couldn't be there to warn his friends. To save them.
He neared the ground, and with a sickening thump, he woke from his nightmare. All his senses were alert, and he frantically looked around the deck of the Bounty, but he didn't see Morro or the beast. His falcon was nowhere in sight, either. He rested his head on his hands, but he still wasn't calm.
"Was that... the thing that captured Sensei Wu...?" he said wearily. It was still late at night, and he decided to tell the others in the morning. He wondered whether it was merely a really bad dream or if was a vision about the perils that would come in their mission to find their Master.