AN: I'd mostly thought I was done with Measure of a Man, but Ninjago Angst Week inspired me and so here is a semi-sequel to the Other Alternate Ending! It's based off of Ninjago Angst Week's prompts. As this is a sequel, I would highly recommend reading Measure of a Man and Measure of a Man Other Alternate Ending before reading this, otherwise... Well, you're gonna get real confused. Enjoy!
The welcome-Zane-back party was finally in full swing, Lloyd noted with satisfaction as he came back into the biggest conference room with another tray of snacks from the kitchen. It had taken a few minutes to get everything set up, and a few more minutes to get Zane to relax into having a good time, but now Zane seemed like he was convinced he was finally back and safe and home and all that, and everyone was enjoying themselves immensely.
Lloyd eavesdropped shamelessly as he went to set down the snacks. Ed and Edna were sharing stories about Jay's growing-up with Cole and Jay, the former of whom had a huge grin on his face and the latter of whom was covering his face with his hands but still laughing. Nya and Kai were by the snacks, arguing playfully over which type of cheese went best with which type of cracker, and if one of them didn't end up in a headlock given by the other by the time the argument was over, Lloyd would be more than surprised. The Royal Blacksmiths were taking a break from singing their hearts out to listen to Sensei Wu tell them stories about past adventures the ninja had gone on, and Lou kept sending shocked looks of either pride or dismay Cole's way depending on what Wu was saying at the moment. Dareth and Zane were sitting at the table chatting, and after Lloyd put the snack tray down and filled a plate for himself he headed over to them.
Pulling out a chair, Lloyd sat next to Zane and wondered, "What're you guys talking about?"
"I was just filling in our friend here on what he's missed in the past few weeks," Dareth explained.
"There were protests against the original court's decision?" Zane checked with Lloyd.
Lloyd nodded. "Uh-huh. A lot of people were mad that Judge Manthus declared you property. There were a bunch of protests of support for us and the appeal."
"And a few counter-protests," Dareth added, clueless to the glare Lloyd gave him.
"And lots and lots and lots of counter-counter protests that went against the counter-protests to support us and you," Lloyd finished quickly, wanting to make Zane knew that the majority of Ninjago had been behind him.
Zane nodded. "That is good to know."
"The lovely Gayle Gossip did a report on us ninjas' efforts to get the decision appealed. Ah, Gayle Gossip," Dareth said, voice trailing off dreamily.
"Did Dareth tell you about Ninjago for Nindroids?" Lloyd asked.
Zane shook his head slightly.
"It was a petition calling for getting Judge Manthus's decision overturned, and it got soooo many signatures," Lloyd said happily, popping some food in his mouth.
"You got support, Zane," Dareth crowed.
Zane smiled, glancing down at the table, then some sort of emotion flickered in his eyes and the smile dropped off his face immediately. It was replaced by an expression of what looked like fear. That couldn't be. What was there to be afraid of here?
"Zane?" Lloyd asked uncertainly.
Zane shrunk back from Lloyd, staring straight through him. "No. Please, Lloyd, no, don't, don't."
"Don't? Don't do what?" Lloyd repeated.
Zane pushed his chair back from the table and jumped into a standing defensive position. "Please, Lloyd, no!"
The party around them ground to a halt at Zane's shout. Everyone stared at him in concern.
"Zane, what's wrong?" Kai asked, coming over to stand by Lloyd's chair. He looked at Lloyd when Zane didn't answer, just stared at him with wide eyes. "Lloyd? What happened, Lloyd?"
"I don't know," Lloyd admitted. "We were just talking with Dareth and then all of a sudden Zane started asking me not to do something."
"Zane, buddy, you okay?" Cole asked, stepping over to stand next to Zane.
Zane twitched and spun around to face Cole, backing away from him. "No, not you too, Cole, don't, please don't."
Cole frowned. "Don't what, Zane?"
"Don't experiment on me," Zane said quietly.
"Zane, we would never," Nya interjected fervently, coming close on Zane's other side.
"Then why, why are you here, why do you have those?" Zane said fearfully, pointing at Nya's hands.
Nya looked at the plate of cheese and crackers in her hands. "...To eat?"
"Those are not things you can eat, those are tools of scientific inquiry, tools of pain," Zane insisted, still gesturing at Nya's hands. "I can see them. You cannot hide them from me, I can see them."
"Zane, I'm holding cheese and crackers," Nya said slowly, taking a step closer.
Zane took a step back, but bumped into Jay, who had been coming close with concern. Turning swiftly, Zane backed himself up against a wall. "No, please, don't lie, I can see them! You all have those tools, Azizi's tools. Why? Why would you help her?"
The other ninja and Nya stared at Zane then at each other worriedly. What was going on?
"Everyone who is not a student of mine, please exit the room and wait in the hallway," Sensei Wu interjected.
Ed, Edna, the Royal Blacksmiths, Dareth, and the Garmadon parents slowly began edging for the door, watching the ninja and Nya but especially Zane with concern and confusion. Zane watched them leave with wide eyes but didn't say a word.
"Zane," Wu said gently once the sound of footsteps had faded, coming closer but stopping when Zane cringed against the wall at his approach. "We are not helping Azizi. We just got you back from her, remember?"
Zane blinked at him uncertainly. "But- but you have her tools. You are going to use them to experiment on me."
"No, we aren't," Jay refuted. "We definitely aren't."
"We would never," Cole added.
"I do not understand," Zane whispered, looking around with bewilderment in his eyes.
"You see Azizi's tools, right? But you also see us, don't you?" Nya asked.
Slowly, Zane nodded.
"You see us," Kai picked up the thread of conversation, realizing where his sister was going. "You know us."
"We're your family," Lloyd added earnestly. "We won't do to you any of the things Azizi did to you."
Sensei Wu nodded. "We promise."
Zane squeezed his eyes shut for several seconds. When he opened them a few moments of baited breath later, his eyes trailed over Jay, Cole, Kai, Lloyd, Wu, and Nya, stopping on Nya. Quietly, he stated, "Nya, you are holding a plate of cheese and crackers."
"That's right," Nya stated.
Jay let out a long breath that ended in a terse little laugh. "Whoa. Okay, did that freak anyone else out?"
Cole elbowed him sharply.
"What? I'm freaked out," Jay protested.
"I am 'freaked out' as well," Zane put forward. "I am not sure what just happened. Out of nowhere, everyone seemed to be holding all sorts of harmful tools and fear was flooding my system. I was certain you all had betrayed me, although I don't know why I had that certainty."
"I'm guessing Azizi's experiments screwed something up with your senses and emotions," Nya speculated.
Zane nodded slowly. "That would make a lot of sense. Doubtlessly my entire system needs repairs. Azizi's scientists were far from reliable in mending me."
"Would you like to begin doing that now?" Sensei Wu offered. "Or would you prefer to finish the party?"
"Finish the party," Zane stated. "Some merriment would be beneficial."
The other ninja and Nya gave each other and their sensei skeptical looks, but Sensei Wu nodded. "Certainly. Would you go out into the hallway and get our guests?"
"Certainly," Zane agreed, and he headed out.
As soon as he was through the doorway, Lloyd, Nya, Kai, Jay, and Cole shot Wu accusatory looks.
"You really think we should just keep partying after what just happened?" Kai asked hotly, but he kept his voice down so that those in the hall, especially Zane, wouldn't be able to hear it.
Sensei Wu tilted his head to one side. "Truthfully, I am uncertain. But Zane has had the ability to make choices taken away from him for the past weeks. It will be important for us to allow him to choose how he goes about the healing process, for it will surely be a lengthy and difficult process. We may help him, and we may suggest things to him, and we may even push him to move forward at times, but for the most part he will need to lead us in how we can assist him. This is his journey, and we will do our best to help him, but he must be in charge of it all, for the healing process is just beginning."