More than Just a Nindroid
Chapter 1: Going Through the Motions
"Zane." *FWAP!* "Zane!"
I open my eyes to the sight of Kai, Jay, and Cole, my cheek stinging from their "wake-up call". I suppose I would have found this situation less unpleasant if my sense of humor was turned on, but I usually turn it off when I sleep. After all, it is not as if I need it then. I do not dream. Sometimes, the other Ninja talk about a crazy, funny, or scary dream they had last night. I wonder what it would be like to dream when they talk about this. But, all runaway hopes aside, I need to get moving. It is my turn to cook breakfast. It makes me happy, in my own sense I suppose, that everybody seems to like my cooking. It's odd. I thought I felt emotions before I knew what I was, but now that I know, I question those feelings. Were they emotions? Do I have emotions? I thought so. I also thought that I was human. Even a Nindroid makes mistakes. For now, I put those thoughts aside and get dressed. When I walk into our monastery's small kitchen, Nya has already pulled out the supplies to make pancakes. As I break the eggs into the bowl, my mind wanders back to my old home in the frozen forest, where my father taught me to cook. I have known what I am for about three months, and I still discover new memories every day. Yesterday, Kai accidentally bumped me in the head while we were playing video games, and it brought up a memory of hitting my head on a branch while chasing after my falcon. Speaking of my falcon, I have not seen him for at least two weeks. Where could he be? I collect my scattered thoughts and continue making breakfast.
Chapter 2: Is there a Difference?
"Aw, Cole, no fair unplugging my controller!" "KAI! COME ON! I NEED YOU TO COVER ME AGAINST THIS ZOMBIE!" "Hey, Zane, are you alright?" Jay's voice snaps me out of another memory, this time of the guardian that my father built to protect us from the Treehorns. "Wha-?" My game controller slips out of my hand. "You've been acting weird, even for you, all day. Is something wrong?" So I have not done as good of a job of hiding my concern as I thought. When I began to worry about my falcon, I told myself that I was not going to let it interfere with my day. "Hellooo...Earth to Zane..." "Yes. Forgive me, my mind seems to be... elsewhere today." "I'll say," interrupts Cole. "I appreciate your concern, but I assure you that I am fine." Not really, but that's what I am going to go with. "Come on, Zane," says Jay, "there's definitely something wrong. What is it?" Well, I suppose I can't keep this from them forever. "Alright. I am concerned because I have not seen my falcon for at least two weeks. Normally, I see him at least every other day, so I fear that something may have happened to him." There. Now I don't need to keep this charade up for the rest of the day. "Hey," points out Kai, "don't you have that 'falcon vision' or something like that? Where you can see what the falcon sees?" I don't know why I didn't think of that before. I close my eyes and try to switch to falcon vision. All I get is darkness. What's going on? I try again, this time pressing my hands to my temples to try to intensify my focus, but I still can't switch. Maybe it only works if the falcon is within range? I run to the bridge. "Bridge," I stammer, "locate my falcon. Search all of Ninjago and the surrounding area." When I think about it, it is strange. One machine giving orders to another. What separates me from the artificial intelligence that controls the bridge? Nothing? I desperately hope that there is something.
Chapter 3: Don't Give Up
Just as I feared. The bridge's search did not find my falcon. My only link to my father is gone. Off the grid, vanished without a trace. Why did I not search for him sooner? I sigh. Sensei was right-never put off for tomorrow what can be done today. I know what I must do. However, to make it easier, I will need to wait until late at night. I just have to wait and hope that the rest of the day passes without incident. For the rest of the day, I think to myself, I will just lay low. I find a book and stretch out on my bunk. I have been reading for an hour or so when someone knocks at the door."Zane," says Nya, as she opens the door to the room that I share with my friends, "Jay told me that you're worried about your falcon." Of course Mouth of Lightning would tell his girlfriend. "It is true that I have concern for my falcon friend, but I am sure it will all work out. Thank you anyway for stopping by." I see a look of worry cross Nya's face before she closes the door. When I finish the book that I found, dinner is ready. At least it's not Cole's night to cook. After dinner, Sensei approaches me as I am clearing the table. "I heard about your falcon problem." I am willing to bet that it was Jay again. "Zane," continues Sensei, "do not give up hope." "I know, Sensei. Thank you." I have not given up. I cannot give up.
Chapter 4: Set Off in Silence
I glance into my small duffel to check my supplies again. Shuriken of Ice: check. Enough food and water for...however long: check. Blanket: check. One of Jay's many sets of glider wings: check. Change of clothes: check. Any idea when I will be back: negative. I locate paper and a pen and in my careful, precise handwriting, compose a note to my friends. After placing the note in my neatly made bed, I look around. It is dark in the monastery. According to my internal clock, it is exactly 2:45 AM. Time to go. I will need to travel in shadows to avoid danger, so I change into my ninja outfit. Taking care not to make any sound, I slip out of the bedroom, through the hall, and onto the deck of Destiny's Bounty. I take a deep breath, then jump. I precisely track each inch that I freefall, so I can get out my shuriken in time to turn them into my vehicle. 3...2...1!With a bright flash, I land safely on the ground in my snow glider. Once I put away my shuriken, I scan my surroundings. Nobody around. Perfect. Now that I have started my journey, I can check the first place where I think my falcon might be: my old home. Based on the final bridge scan I did yesterday, I am somewhere in the vicinity of 95 miles away from there. As I tread gently across the snow-covered ground, I begin to reflect back on my previous pondering of my emotions. I walk for about 30 minutes before I encounter a bit of good fortune. As I am staring down at the ground, the pristine white of the snow is broken by a raven-black feather. At first, I think it could be any feather. However, upon further inspection, I notice that it is a synthetic feather. My falcon must have been here, and it must have been recently, because there is not any snow covering the feather. I may find my falcon and return to the ship tonight.
Chapter 5: Where's Zane?
"SPLASH!"
I wake up to find Kai and Cole standing over me with a bucket of water, laughing their heads off. "Morning, Bluejay! Rise and shine!" I guess this is karmic revenge for the way we woke Zane up the other day. Speaking of Zane, why isn't he part of this little joke? After all, slapping him to wake him up was my idea, so I would think that he would be most eager to take revenge. "Aw man, really? Jerkwads." When I stand up, a nice pool of water is there to greet my socks. Yep, nothing says "good morning" quite like having to wear two bags of wooly water on your feet while you walk to the one laundry hamper in the whole freaking monastery. As I stumble groggily down the hall, Nya walks around a corner. "H-hi, Nya." "Good morning, Jay!" "Hi, Nya." She continues past me without saying anything else. A few seconds later, my mind starts working. "Wait, Nya." She turns back around, with a slight smile. "Yeah?" "Y-you look really pretty today. I mean, you look really pretty every day, but especially today. Wait, I mean you always look pretty, but I-" "It's alright, Jay. I know what you mean. Thanks," says that radiant angel who graces my presence, "but I really have to get moving. Sensei says that Zane left, and we need to find him before he runs into trouble." "What? Zane left?" My mind races, wondering if it was my fault. "Yeah, didn't Kai and Cole tell you? Zane left a note saying that he was leaving to find his bird. Zane's a nice guy, but he can be pretty weird sometimes." "Yeah? Try sharing a room with him, training with him, and fighting alongside him." "Bye, Jay." "Bye, Nya." I pause a second before murmuring "I love you" under my breath.
Chapter 6: Wiped Out
I turn the jet-black feather over and over in my hands as I continue my trek through the snowy forest. I have been going this direction for at least three hours, but I have not yet found another clue as to the whereabouts of my falcon. According to my calculations, I am still about five hours away from my old home if I keep up my current pace. As I gently step through the deep snow, weaving through fallen branches, I notice what look like animal tracks. I did not know that there were any creatures around here besides treehorns. I make a note in my memory to be wary of wild animals.
After about another three hours of walking through what seems like endless forest, I think I see something out of the corner of my eye. When I turn around to see if there is really anything there, I feel the harsh pain of a powerful impact, followed by darkness.
When I awaken, there is a throbbing in my head where something hit me. My ankles and wrists are strapped down. Although my vision is full of patches of static, probably due to processors being damaged on impact, I recognize where I am. My assailant has brought me to my original destination: my father's old lab. I try to sit up, but a thick metal bar keeps my midsection held down. "Hello? Who are you? Why are you doing this?" I try to call out, but my voice is cracked and sounds like a phone call with a bad connection. Once again, I see the same glimpse out of the corner of my eye. "Hello, Iccccccce Ninja".
Chapter 7:
Numb
That hiss. After all of our clashes with the Serpentine, I would know it anywhere. It belongs to-"Pythor! Why are you doing this, and what have you done with my falcon?" I try to break out of the metal arches that keep me held down. "Ah-ah-ahh, I wouldn't struggle if I were you. That shovel to the head cracked some power cellsss." I strain my neck to look at the wretched purple creature. I see a piece of blue paper in his hand. It is the blueprint that I found when my falcon led me here months ago. My blueprint. He knows what I am. What right does he have to do this? I feel anger rising inside of me. Unless- is it anger? I am so confused. If I didn't know what I was, I wouldn't question the authenticity of my emotions. Why can't- "Now, to anssswer your questions. Your falcon is right over there, and there, and there." He points to different piles of disassembled gears scattered about the room. Each pile has been topped with a single black feather. "As for why I am doing thisss, let me tell you ssomething. When that foolish boy let me out of the tomb, I was the only Anacondrai he found. I am the lassst Anacondrai. Now, if I am going to take over all of Ninjago, I'm going to need an army. Unfortunately, I ssseem to have fallen out of the favor of the other Ssserpentine generals. They don't want me leading their tribesss." "How does trapping me help with any of these problems?" "You didn't let me finisssh, you sstupid robot." For some reason, his comment does not bother me. I think at this point, I am too numb over seeing my only connection to my father disassembled and scattered around.
Chapter 8: Pythor's Plan
"What are you going to do? Why have you brought me here? Wh-" "Sssilence! I don't take well to being interrupted. For at least a month, I've been making tripss to this little dump that you used to call home." "How did you find this lab?" "Sstrike one, ninja. My patience is running low. If you musst know, one of my troops was beneath the ground when you and your ssilly little ninja friends fought those tree creatures. He heard all of the noisse, and came to investigate. He found the door to this trash heap wide open, walked in, and the rest is history. He called me here, found these blueprints, and it didn't take long for my brilliant mind to figure out your little...sssecret. Now, back to the 'why' of all of this. Thanks to the idiotic citizens of Ninjago, the Serpentine are quite far behind in technology. Ssince, as I mentioned before, I have no more troops to do my bidding, I need to get my hands on advanced machinery. An army of Serpentine robots. Of course, being so far behind, blueprints aren't enough. We need an example. An example that can be disassembled, studied, then...disposssed of. That, my metal friend, is where you come in. You may not be particularly advanced, but you've managed to keep yourself in one piecccce... For now."
Chapter 10:
"I think you all know why I have called this meeting." I lean back in my chair. "Yeah, Sensei,we know. Our crazy robot friend left to find his weird falcon thing." "Cole!" scolds Sensei Wu, "That is no way to speak of your brother! I fear that he may be in grave danger." It seems like every single time something happens, the old man thinks that someone is "in grave danger". I flip my shaggy black bangs out of my face and jump out of my chair. I turn to Sensei and retort, "So let's find him. If he's in trouble, we kick his problem's butt. What's the big deal?" Kai and Jay both start yelling out random places, each of them trying to be louder than the other, until Sensei whacks his bamboo pole on the table between them. "ENOUGH!" Nya dashes in, looking panicked. "Bad news, guys. I ran a scan on the bridge. Not a single sign of Zane, even with every scan enhancement. Either he's more than five hundred miles away, putting him out of the scan range, or something's happened to him. If he's in trouble and we need to help him, we really need to start looking. The sooner, the better. Jay, like the lovestruck dunderhead he is, stutters out, "H-hi, Nya." "Yeah, hi." Kai smacks him on the back of the head. "Get it together, my sister doesn't speak spaz." Jay punches him in the arm, before Nya yells out, "Come on guys, this is serious! Zane could be really hurt!" Sensei nods in agreement. "We must go and find Zane. Jay, you and Nya go and run another bridge scan. Cole," he says, nodding at me, "You and Kai start packing up and thinking of where Zane might be, in case the scan provides nothing. We leave tonight."
Chapter 11: Schrödinger's Nindroid
I am bleeding. Not like the other ninjas would if they got hurt, but in a way only I can. Pythor was right. The power cells that I only recently discovered that I have are badly damaged, and all of my power is leaking out. I can barely move, and I can do so less and less by the minute. The metal restraints that bind me do not exactly help with this problem, either. The only part of me that remains fully intact and functioning is my mind, and I do not know how much longer my captor will allow even that to be. For now, I am unable to do anything except lie on the cold, unmerciful steel table, practically paralyzed, and hope that my friends will find me before it's too late. According to the diagnostic algorithms I have been running, I have less than forty-eight hours until total systems failure. Death. I will probably cease to be able to move a few hours before, but my mind will be quietly ticking down until final shutdown. Apparently, the computer is not the only way to shut me down. Extensive damage can "kill" me. When my power cells are completely drained, I will be dead, just a toy without batteries. Pythor is busy typing long strings of code into the computer, and they flash on the monolithic monitor, like a judge handing down a guilty sentence. Based on what I can understand, they will make up my new programming when Pythor has finished with me. I am terrified of the possibility that I will hurt my friends under his command. Out of fear that my memories of my father will soon cease to exist, I begin to watch all of them in my mind, starting when I was first activated. When I get to the last one, his death, a single, silent tear traipses down my cheek. I feel like Schrödinger's cat; simultaneously, for all intents and purposes, alive and dead.
Chapter 12: Blackout
If my vocal functions were still working, I would be screaming, If I were the slightest bit able to move, I would be thrashing about like a fish out of water. About ten minutes ago, Pythor finished writing my new programming. Once he mocked me and my current state of being for a while, he connected me to the computer to shut me down. A thin blue cable is connected to my left temple, making my head feel as if it is being pounded from the inside out. My scaly, purple tormentor holds up a yellow cord, as thick around as my wrist, and hisses, "This is going to hurt you a lot more than it'sss going to hurt me." I cannot fight back as he flips open the panel on my midsection, revealing all of my machinery, ports, and switches. I feel him inch closer and closer, and try to brace myself for the searing pain that is sure to follow. Unfortunately, nothing can prepare me for the shock of pure agony that rips through every inch of me. I would have rather died once my countdown reached zero in about forty hours than have invisible knives dragged through my arms, burning razors through my legs, and my chest simultaneously frozen with ice and scalding with lava. A message flashes inside my head, visible only to me. "WARNING: SYSTEM OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS. SHUTDOWN IMMINENT IN 10 SECONDS." The timer counts down, and with each tick of the clock, the anguish grows, reaching a crescendo at one. When zero flashes, everything stops. My final thought as myself, rather than Pythor's slave, crosses my mind:
I am sorry.
I have failed everyone.
I deserve this.
Chapter 13: Turned Around
"Are you sure this is the right way? I think we've passed this tree before." I flip my red hood off of my hood. "No, Jay. That was another tree." "Well, excuuuse me. It's not like we're in the middle of a giant, snow-covered forest, surrounded by thousands of trees, all of which look EXACTLY THE SAME!" Nya gives him an irritated glance. "You done?" Jay kicks a chunk of snow, then murmurs back, "Yes. Sensei, we've been walking for ten hours. Are you sure that this is the way to Zane's old house?" Sensei, without looking back at Jay, replies, "My memory may not be as sharp as it was in my youth, but do not doubt me. Patience, we have only a little further to go." Cole flips his bangs out of his face. "How do you know that he's even there, Sensei?" That's a good question, I was wondering that myself. "Call it intuition. Zane and I share a common trait, something that you might call a 'sixth sense'. We have very powerful predictions of what may be, My instincts told me to look here first. I have learned not to doubt my instincts..." What would it be like to see things before they happen? If I had known that I would join a group of ninjas, and become one myself...battling skeletons, snakes, and a guy with four arms... "Hey, Kai. Get the map out," snaps Cole. "Hey, Cole, ever heard of a little word, starts with 'p', ends with 'lease'? Yeah. You should try it sometime." I reach into my pocket and unfold a battered square of parchment. "Uh, it looks like we've still got about five miles to go." After walking in silence for another hour and a half, Sensei whacks his pole on the ground. "Stop." I glance at him, confused. "Why, Sensei? The forest where Zane used to live is straight ahead," I say, pointing in front of me. "I sense... that we are not alone. Travel by shadows." I flip my red hood over my face, which also brings a bit of relief from the stinging cold. After about five more minutes, Jay freezes, squints at a figure in the distance, then takes off, sprinting towards the horizon. He yells out, "ZANE!" We watch him get closer and closer to the figure, then stare in shock as he is struck to the ground by a golden shuriken.
Chapter 14:
Not in the Database
I lay pathetically on the cold, wet ground, my shoulder bleeding ridiculously from the gash where Zane hit me with his shuriken. I'm in too much pain to move, so I have to watch as my blood seeps into the fluffy snow, making a sick red snow-cone. As long as I can remember, I've always puked at the sight of blood, especially my own. I guess I'm too embarrassed to have been caught off guard like that, or in shock from being attacked by my friend. "Jay!" Nya cries out, and tries to run to me. Before she can take more than a couple of steps, Kai leaps out in front of her. "No way, sis. You saw what happened, I'm not letting you get hurt." He turns to Zane. "Zane, what was that for? You could've killed him!" All eyes turn to the menacing figure looming over me, waiting for a response. What we hear next is a familiar voice, but with an unfamiliar anger to it that we've never heard from Zane before. "You are trespassing on the property of Pythor P. Chumsworth. Leave now or I will kill you." Well, didn't see that coming... Cole steps closer. "Zane, don't you remember us? Your friends?" "Do not approach me. Also, the term 'friend' is an unfamiliar term to me, it is not in my database. Leave now. I will kill you if you do not comply." Cole turns to Kai. "He doesn't remember us! We're too late, Pythor must've done something to him." Sensei bows his head, then nods at me. "Get up, Jay. We are leaving." Kai stares at Sensei Wu in disbelief. "Have you gone crazy? Sensei, even if he doesn't remember us, we remember him. We can't just leave! What are you thi-" Kai's rant gets cut short by Sensei's bamboo pole knocking him on the head. "Do not question me." Not wanting to anger Sensei, I manage to pull myself off of the ground, and amble clumsily back to join everyone. Once we're out of the forest, I turn to Sensei. "Why are we leaving him?" Sensei looks back at me. "We aren't. I had to move you all away so that I could tell you our plan."
Chapter 15: Prisoner
I know I am not dead, because I am still conscious. I am still here. However, there is nothing more to me than a consciousness. I am being held prisoner in my own mind, forced to watch from within as Pythor's new programming operates my body. Hurting my friends, my brothers. I had to watch as my arm knocked Jay to the ground, his blood seeping into the pristine, crystalline white of the snowy forest floor. I could do nothing about it. I am no longer in physical pain, as there is no longer anything physical to me, but the agony of being out of control is driving me slowly mad. It is as if I am trapped in an indestructible bubble, unable to break out and take myself back. There is nothing that I can do to stop the slave to Pythor's command that my body has become. There is something of a screen in front of me, showing everything that is happening on the outside. Now, "I" am moving towards the hollow tree where I was held captive and reprogrammed. What is Pythor going to make me do now? There is not much worse that he can do, now that he has made me severely injure my brother.
Chapter 16: The Plan
I really don't want to doubt Sensei's wisdom, but I can't say I'm loving his plan. Jay gets to stay in a safe alcove, with Nya tending to his injured shoulder, while Kai and I are putting ourselves back in the line of fire. As we gently leap from branch to branch, I hear Kai muttering through gritted teeth about how if Jay "lays on finger on Nya", he's going to "tear him a new one". The hollow tree is just ahead, so I smack Kai on the head. "I'm going to tear you a new one if you don't shut up. Kai gives me a glare, makes a rude gesture, then pauses. He squints at a figure on the ground, and points at it. "Look, there's Zane. Ready?" "Yeah, ready when you are." Basically, this was Sensei's plan: We find Zane from up in the treetops. If he's got a weapon on him, Kai shoots a burst of fire at his hand to make him drop it. While he's distracted, I jump out of the tree, hopefully landing on him. I quietly pass my scythe to my teammate, so that it doesn't land on top of me after my thirty-foot freefall. "Has he got anything on him?" Kai scrutinizes the figure, which, from this height, appears the size of a toy. "Yeah, there are his shurikens. As soon as the flame hits his hand, jump." Easy for him to say, he gets to stay in the safety of this tree, I have to jump thirty feet and land on top of a violent robot.
Chapter 17: Fallen
What a time for my hands to start shaking. I have to carefully shoot a burst of fire at the hands of one of my best friends, but from a combination of cold and nerves, my black-gloved hands are jittering like a bug. Cole glares at me, then whispers, "What are you waiting for? Shoot!" I reach a hand out to smack him on the head, forgetting that I was holding onto the tree with that hand. Before I know what's going on, I land on top of a very surprised Zane. Luckily, one of his shurikens lands harmlessly in the snow, a few feet away from our jumbled entanglement. However, from the sharp pain in my thigh, I think I know where the other one ended up. I mutter every swear word that I know through my gritted teeth, then glance around for my sword in case I have to fight. I don't have to look for long before I notice the trail of melted snow and smoke leading directly to Zane, my sword buried deep in his sparking abdomen. I watch, terrified, as he lets out an awful mechanized cough and his eyelids flutter shut. "Oh, God," I think to myself, "I just killed one of my best friends." Cole swings down from the tree, landing lightly next to me. "Woah, man, are you alright? That looked like a nasty fall. Hilarious, but nasty. I can't believe-" He stops when he sees the deep, bleeding gash in my thigh, crimson liquid dripping into the pristine white fluff of the forest snow. I bow my head as his eyes shift from my wound to my sword, buried in our brother's now limp body. "Kai, you..." "Don't say it. I know." Nya runs to me, crouches down in the snow, and flings her arms around me. I bury my head in her shoulder, too ashamed to do anything but lay there. Suddenly, there's a loud boom. We all turn to see the door of the hollow tree laying on the ground. A tall figure emerges, his forked tongue flickering in the shadows. "How rude. Not only do you have the audaccccity to intrude on my new base, but now, you've broken my favorite toy."