*SPOILERS FOR HUNTED * ️
While I was working on TOTGA, I had an idea for a Harumi/Morro redemption fic, set after episode 92 in the canon timeline. But at that time, I was quite busy with my other story and also I didn't want to post anything season 9 related before the US airdate (which, according to the Ninjago wikia, was last week - still nothing in sight for UK/Ireland :( ️). And when I finally wanted to get back to the draft, I realised that a) my idea would not fit into a one shot and b) there are already a couple of stories with this theme around, so I scrapped the idea.
And then came this tweet by the Hageman Brothers (see story cover)... although I should mention they said that, as this plot detail did not make it into the final version of the episode, it is not canon, meaning Echo Zane and Mr E are officially two separate characters now! But still too good an opportunity for a little fic to miss XD.
Rated T for mention of character death.
Quiet Echos
When Harumi opened her eyes, the first thing she saw were rays of light breaking through the eerie mist, blinding her.
She blinked while she was feeling around, noticing that she was that she was lying on a soft ground out in the open air.
But where was she? And what had happened? She wondered, her mind being even more foggy than her mysterious surroundings.
As the former princess slowly sat up, she slowly began to remember: The Oni Titan, the apartment block, the elevator, the little boy and his parents – Harumi sincerely hoped that the family had made it down the wobbly stairs safely and in time – and finally, the building collapsing on top of her.
The white haired girl wondered how in Ninjago had she had actually managed to get out of all the debris, she was expecting to find every single bone in her body to be broken. Yet, she wasn't feeling any pain. In fact, she could not feel her body at all.
Panic gripped the girl as she started to look around, desperately trying to make out her any familiar feature in her surroundings. She eventually realised that was on top of a small hill, and through the mist she could spot some trees as well as a couple of small, simple looking buildings made out of wood and bricks in the distance.
No, this was not Ninjago City. But... was this even Ninjago?
"Am I... dead?" She wondered, realisation dawning on her.
"This is the correct answer... ahem, question." A metallic voice replied. "Greetings, Quiet One, and welcome to the Departed Realm."
Harumi raised her gaze and saw that a rather strange looking and seemingly ageless man had quietly approached her. Just like a sneaky Ninja.
He was standing right in front of her, watching the newly deceased one with great interest. His body was glistening in the dim sunlight, it appeared to be made out of a brown-ish metal (bronze as the former princess correctly guessed) which had been very recently polished.
Harumi realised that she was looking at an android. And he looked oddly familiar.
"Ha-have we met before?" She asked.
"We have indeed." He replied, a friendly smile on his artificial face. "It will take a while for all your memories to return." He informed her, gesturing down his body. "And you have not seen me like this for long; it might be easier to recognise me in a different form."
He flipped open a small panel on his forearm to press a little button hidden inside and, with a brief but blinding flash, his appearance changed into a figure dressed entirely in black. Through the dark mask covering almost his entire face, only a pair of flaming red eyes could be seen.
"E." Harumi smiled as she recognised her former general – and her friend.
She had been deeply upset when the Emperor had torn the Nindroid apart; and for a brief moment she had actually felt a hint of regret for bringing back the purely evil Lord Garmadon.
"It is me." He replied as he switched back to his more vintage look. "Although I now prefer to be called by my original name. I am Zane. I was built to protect those who cannot protect themselves."
Harumi remembered.
Those were the exact words he had said to her when she had found the shy, rusty and slightly damaged robot in the basement of the abandoned lighthouse.
And his eyes displayed the same emotions – kindness, curiosity, and naivety – that they had back then, before the cunning girl had turned him into a mindless killing machine.
She had cruelly exploited his trust by offering to take him to Ninjago with her and reuniting the creation with his maker (all the time fully aware of the fact that Dr Julien had long passed away) and have him properly fixed by a skilled Mechanic - only to erase his personal memory and corrupt him using pieces of code from of the Digital Overlord virus. They had even stolen blueprints of the Ice Ninja's holographic matrix, allowing the Nindroid to alter his appearance so that nobody would recognise him as the titanium Ninja's lost brother.
"O-okay, Zane." She replied, shyly glancing at him. How could he be so calm? He was showing not even a hint of anger towards her for what she had done.
"Now that we have re-introduced ourselves, I suggest we get going." He held out a hand to help her get up.
"Do not worry, I may now look again like I used to when we first met, but my arm has been firmly attached." He added, seeing her hesitate, a concerned look on the girl's face. "It has not fallen off a single time since I have arrived here."
"Thank you." Harumi still let out a little relieved sigh when he had pulled her up into a standing positing, neither of them having lost any limbs in the process.
"Whe-where are we going?" Harumi wanted to know as they were walking down the small slope.
She was not keen on meeting anyone, the girl also known as the Quiet One was probably not the most popular person in any of the 16 Realms right now.
"My father's house." Echo Zane replied. "He has sent me to take you to him."
"Your father?" She asked confused. "You mean Dr Julien?"
"Yes, he fixed my old body when I arrived here."
"But... he-he left you behind at the lighthouse. All on your own."
Just like my parents did. Only he had done it on purpose.
"I was not on my own, Gizmo was with me." Zane corrected her. "Also, he didn't mean to abandon me there. My father was very old. When the Ninja arrived on the island, he was already dying slowly. Suffering from dementia, he constantly kept forgetting things, and then my brother's appearance utterly confused him. He had simply forgotten that there were actually two of us. Of course, I was sad when he left, but I am glad he could see my brother again and spend his final days with him. And now we are back together here. I just wish... I mean... it would have been nice to meet the other Zane under... more pleasant circumstances."
Harumi looked down, ashamed.
When the two Zanes had fought each other, neither of them had known that they were in fact brothers. And it had been her fault.
"By the way, I hope you can forgive us that my father has restored my original code." Zane remarked. "And all of my memories. We have kept the holographic matrix though, it is a very useful feature."
Harumi could hardly believe her ears. After all that she had done to him, Zane was apologising to her?
But that was part of his rusty charm. He now was again the friendly, naïve, a bit old-fashioned Nindroid he had been when they had first met.
"Of course." She forced a little reassuring smile. "I-I am really sorry." She added in a quiet voice.
"What for?" Zane gave her a surprised look.
Harumi swallowed. "For... what I've done to you." She said.
"Finding me at the lighthouse, taking me to Ninjago with you, having me fixed, letting me join your team." Zane listed. "I do not understand why you are apologising for that. I owe you my gratitude for that, Quiet One."
"But... don't you remember the other stuff?"
"I remember everything." He replied. "Both that happened before and after we met. And I agree, you should have asked before taking away my memories and altering my code. Also, you have made me do things that were... not so nice." He nodded. "But we have all made mistakes. And something I will never forget was you asking – begging – Emperor Garmadon to spare my life, and the look on your face when he didn't."
Could ghosts cry? Harumi wondered. She felt like she was going to find out fairly soon.
"That's what friends do." He smiled. "And if you want, we can now be friends again, Quiet One."
"Please, Zane." Harumi hugged him, smiling back through her (as she realised non-existent) tears. "Call me Rumi."