"Hey…Dude…You alright?" Kai's voice echoed. Zane slowly sat up, he groaned, placing both his hands to his head.
"I am fine…I just feel sick…" Zane muttered.
"I didn't know you could get drunk." Jay commented.
"Well obviously he can." Kai snapped. Zane rubbed his head as he tried to remember what happened.
"What happened after I left?" Kai added.
"This woman, I talked to her, she was the one from my dream…She…She was broken up about something…" Zane held his head.
"Yeah, hang overs aren't fun." Cole chuckled.
"I realize this…" Zane looked away.
"What did you dream about?" Cole asked, noticing something was wrong.
"I was in a hospital, my father was there…He seemed upset…Very upset…And there was this strange woman…I've never seen her before in my life but my father kissed her…" Zane looked at the window. The light was blinding and only made his head hurt worse.
"Wow, sounds like one of your normal, everyday dreams. That's new, especially for you." Kai laughed.
"Don't look at the window, light will only make your head hurt worse." Jay walked over and closed the window.
"Thank you…" Zane covered his eyes before continuing "That's the problem, Kai…But it…Something wasn't right…It felt more like a buried memory than like a dream…"
"Maybe that's why you feel so unrested?" Cole suggested.
"I do not know…I feel like something caused this…" Zane attempted to get up, before letting out a pain filled yelp and flopping onto his back.
"Yeah…Hangovers suck; I'm going to tell Sensei, you're going to stay in bed." Kai left the room.
"Why doesn't he have a hangover? He drank more than me." Zane questioned.
"Kai's got a good liver and some tolerance to alcohol since he drinks more often than you." Cole said.
"We should leave Zane to get some rest, night dude." Jay waved and walked out.
"Get some rest, Zane. And if you need something, call for one of us, okay?" Cole sighed, concerned.
"Of course, thank you." Zane pulled up the blanket.
"Night." Cole walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.
"Good night…" Zane said, feeling empty and alone.
"Cynder?" Garmadon spoke up, noticing the girl's entrance.
"Yes, Sir? Do you need something?" Cynder spoke in a bitter tone.
"I want you to screw with Zane, see how long it takes until you drive him mad. I bet you'll have fun with my next orders." Garmadon smirked.
"Why's that?" Amanda asked.
"You'll see, just get this done." The red eyed man told her.
"Yes, Sir." Cynder rolled her eyes and walked out.
Zane slept, snoring gently. His mechanical heart whirled loudly and he sweat, he was breathing heavily.
"Zane…How are you feeling today?" A man with dark brown hair smiled.
"Yes, dad. I'm fine, how's Markus?" Zane asked, sitting up in his hospital bed.
"He's fine…" The man smiled.
"Dad, I swear, I'm fine. I'm going to get better. I promise…I'll get better so I can meet my little sibling…Speaking of that, do you guys know the gender?" Zane smiled warmly.
"It's going to be a little boy; you'll have a little brother." The man smiled.
"I'm really happy for you and mom…Have you heard anything from my friends?" Zane asked, shifting uncomfortably.
"No, we haven't. I'm so sorry…Your mother is bring Markus in later." Something in the man's pocket beeped.
"I'm sorry that I have to leave, I'll see you later." The man waved.
"Bye dad, have fun working." Zane waved. As soon as the man left, the blond haired boy covered his face.
"Why haven't they come? No one talks to me anymore…Have really been in here so long that everyone's forgotten me?" Zane whined, tears in his eyes. The door cracked open, a young woman walked in.
"Hey Zane." The girl sat in the chair by the bed.
"Hey nurse." Zane mumbled.
"You have your chemo in an hour." The nurse set something down on the bed and left. Zane picked it up,
"What is this?" Zane opened the box.
"Oh…A Ouija board…Wow…You know what…Let's play…" Zane took the board out and set it up.
"Hello, is anyone there?" He asked. The planchette moved over the word hello.
"Who am I talking with?" The boy with ice blue eyes asked. The planchette moved,
"A former patient?" Zane said after writing down the letter with one hand.
"Nice…What's your name?" He asked. The planchette moved,
"Remove your fingers? Why?" Zane asked, concerned.
"Because I want to leave? Then you're dismissed." Zane muttered, scared.
"That's not how it works? It says on the instructions that you shouldn't remove your fingers." Zane said. The door creaked open quietly.
"You don't care about the instructions? Well I don't want to release you." The boy with ice blue eyes snapped.
"Be reasonable and I won't kill you…I won't rele-" Zane began.
"Hi honey!" Zane screamed and bounced, the board fell from the bed.
"Oh no…" Zane mumbled.
"Honey, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" A woman with dirty blonde hair asked.
"I'm fine mom…I was just playing with a Ouija board…I think I just let out a poltergeist." Zane mumbled, frightened. A loud panicked chirping noise came from something the woman was holding.
"Markus!" Zane smiled, happily. The woman removed the cloth and opened the cage. She set the cage down on the table before picking up the Ouija board and putting it away.
"I'm going to go give this back to the nurse." The woman smiled and walked out. Zane placed his arm out and the falcon bird landed on his arm,
"Hey Markus, how are you doing?" He asked, seeming to forget his fear. Markus chirped loudly and happily. A scream came from outside the room; Zane jumped and crawled out of bed.
A feeling of exhaustion took over him. Zane shook it off and ran out with Markus flying beside him, chirping like crazy.
"Mom?" Zane stopped in front of the mangled body of his mother, trapped in the elevator doors.
Zane bolted awake, screaming at the top of his lungs. Kai threw open the door and ran in,
"Dude, what's wrong?!" He yelped. Zane looked around before shaking his head,
"It was just a bad…A horrible dream…It felt real…But I was never that young…" He took in a deep breath in fetal attempt to calm himself down.
"Are you okay?!" Jay shouted as ran in with Cole.
"I-I'm fine…" Zane got up, looking around. He was unable to get the image of his mangled mother out of his head.
"Something's wrong, what did you even dream about?" Kai asked.
"It's my fault…My fault she's dead…" Zane muttered, breathing heavily. His eyes whipped around as he looked for a way to escape.
"Did you do that?" Phantom asked.
"Nope…No…I…I haven't done shit. I was going to wait until he woke up, but I guess getting a traumatic memory back is better than what I was going to do." Cynder chuckled, feeling slightly bad for the panicking automaton.
"Wow, poor guy. Bet you can sympathize with him." Sneered Phantom.
"Other than I've never forgotten anything, maybe if I got amnesia and got my horrible memories back first than maybe I could, but that's never happened, so who the hell cares." Cynder laughed.
"What do you mean, it's your fault she's dead?" Cole asked.
"It's my fault! Please just leave me alone! It's all my fault! I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me!" Zane bolted around Cole and Jay and darted off the Bounty. He ran until he no longer knew where he was. He was panting heavily.
"It's my fault…All my fault…" Zane whined as he sat down, pulling his legs close to him. Cynder had followed him; she sighed and walked over, flopping down beside him.
"Hey man, what's up?" She leaned back.
"Huh?" Zane looked up, his eyes filled with fear. Zane jumped onto his feet and moved away from her,
"No! Get away from me! You could get hurt!" He shouted, covering his face.
"Relax; there is nothing anyone could do to me that hasn't already been done." Amanda chuckled.
"Has anyone dismembered you before?" Zane squeaked out, frightened.
"Okay, good point. That doesn't mean I should be scared. I can protect myself, so stop worrying and sit down." Cynder smiled gently. Zane took a deep but shaky breath before reluctantly sitting down.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"What are you doing here?" The blonde haired boy asked.
"I was walking through this place when I heard someone scream, so I went to investigate...So are you okay?"
"Yes…I'll be fine…"
"Are you sure? Do you need to talk about it?"
"No…I don't…I'll be alright."
"Well, whatever man." Cynder exhaled loudly. Zane had tears in his eyes as he went over his dream in his head. Cynder hugged him, Zane gasped at the suddenness.
"It's going to be alright, I promise. It was just a dream. Besides I'll protect you, I swear." Amanda rubbed his back. Zane hugged her back,
"But it wasn't a dream…It was a memory." Tears dripped from his face and landed onto her cloak.
"Hey…So what? Everyone has done something they aren't proud of…Besides, even if it was a memory, who cares? Everyone has bad memories." Amanda chuckled, rubbing his back. More tears dripped onto her clothes,
"Stop being so nice to me! I'm the reason my mother died! I killed my mother! It was all my fault!" Zane screamed as tears dripped from his cheeks.
"No, I doubt it was. You don't have it in you to kill anyone...I can tell…Trust me…" Cynder sinisterly chuckled.
"It was…If I had kept my fingers on the board…My mom wouldn't have died…The elevator…I don't know what caused it, I don't remember but I feel like it was my fault…" Zane cried.
"Wait…Elevator? You mean in a hospital?" Cynder asked.
"Yes…" Zane mumbled. Amanda sighed and rubbed his back,
"I bet it just malfunctioned, it happens." She gently told him.
"But they never kill anyone…" The boy with ice blue eyes mumbled. Blue Bunny began to laugh,
"Are you kidding me?! Of course they do!" She laughed. Zane let out a pathetic noise. Hearing the noise, she stopped laughing.
"Listen, kitten, they kill people. People die all the time, so who cares. Death is inevitable, no matter what we do." Cynder sighed and rubbed his back, unsure of what to do.
"Why are you being nice to me!?" Zane shoved her backwards. Cynder snorted, annoyed. She shook off her aggravation the best she could so she could play her part.
"Because, you need someone to show you that it isn't your fault." She choked out, malice in her voice.
"I-It's my fault…All my fault…" Zane covered his face. Cynder got up,
"I'll see you later, okay? I'm sorry I couldn't help you more." She managed to say in a gentle and kind tone. She walked away; Zane stared at her as she walked away.
"I-I'm sorry…So sorry…" He whined, holding his legs close.
"Wow, I can't believe you actually tried to cheer someone up." Phantom chirped.
"You know why I did it, I'm playing a game, and I want to win." Cynder muttered.
"Weren't your orders to make him go crazy? Shouldn't you have harassed him and called him a murderer?" Phantom asked.
"Nope. One, I know what I'm doing, and two I don't care what that ignorant shit ordered me to do. I will only follow Damshe's orders. The moron doesn't know what he's doing; I know what I'm doing. I wasn't helping that stupid fuck back there, trust me, the kindness will drive him mad. The guilt will kill him, maybe physically, maybe mentally." Cynder continued to walk.
"I know, but…What if it doesn't? Then what?" Phantom asked.
"I don't care what happens. That's the thing, I want to do something entertaining, and instead of being able to relax back at home, I have to do this bullshit. So since I have to do this bullshit, I'm at least going to have fun doing it." Amanda laughed.
Zane whimpered as he held his legs close, he let out a couple of pathetic noises.
"Please…I don't want to be alone!" He cried, tears dripped from his cheeks.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm a monster!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as tears streamed from his cheeks and landed on his clothes.
"Zane?!" Cole shouted.
"Guys?" Zane mumbled, getting up. Cole walked into the clearing,
"I found him!" He shouted.
"Hi…" Zane took out his handkerchief and wiped his face
"Are you alright?" Cole walked over.
"I'm…Much better now…" Zane sighed, shaking off his feelings. He had to put up a strong front for his friends.
"Alright, well come on. Let's go home." Cole began to walk. Zane followed slowly behind him.
"Did you know that Zane's mother died because an elevator smashed her?" Garmadon looked up from the file in his hand. Cynder placed her backpack on the ground and flopped onto the floor.
"Yes, Sir…I did…" She mumbled.
"Are you tired?" The red eyed man asked.
"Very…Not like I can sleep…" The auburn haired girl grumbled.
"I never said you couldn't sleep." Garmadon crossed his arms.
"My body won't let me sleep. I'm an insomniac." Cynder hissed.
"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that." Lord Garmadon muttered quietly.
"Meh, don't be. I'm fine." Amanda got up and stretched out.
"So what's Zane's mental state?"
"When I left, he was crying. He was a wreck, but it wasn't me that caused it. He had a memory flash of his mother's death. That's how I knew." Blue Bunny told him, bitterly.
"Try to get some rest, please. If you can't sleep than you can read through these files or go do more recon." The black haired man went back to his reading.
"Whatever." Cynder picked up her backpack and walked away.
"How annoying, he sympathized with me. He's trying to be evil, to rule the world? Well with that behavior…It doesn't surprise me that such idiots can take him down." Growled Cynder.
"Cyns, be nice." Phantom sighed.
"Why? Because he's my 'boss'?" Amanda rolled her eyes.
"Yes, that's exactly why." The light blue haired man said. Cynder started laughing,
"Yeah right. I'll respect him when he's killed someone or proven to me that he's a worthy boss." Amanda continued to walk. As soon as she found a large tree that she liked, she climbed it.
Once she found a branch that could hold her weight, she placed her backpack behind her head and tried to get some rest.
As soon as the ninjas were back home, Zane prepared dinner and they talked as they ate.
"So what did you even dream of?" Kai asked. Zane sighed, looking away.
"I really don't want to talk about it." He poked at some of the food on his plate.
"Come on, it might help to talk about it." Cole spoke up, before adding "I mean, when I found you, you were crying."
"You wouldn't get it, please stop. You can't help." Zane got up, he step over the bench.
"Sensei, may I be excused?" He asked.
"Yes, you may…But you barely ate anything, Zane. Are you alright?" The Sensei asked.
"I'm fine, I am just a robot, I don't have to eat." Zane walked out. The small group exchanged worried glances.
"Well that was out of character for Zane." Kai muttered.
"Yeah…No kidding…" Cole muttered.
"He's probably in pain, whatever he dreamed of must be bothering him." Nya commented.
"Maybe he's lonely?" Jay suggested.
"I don't think that's the case, Jay. I believe Nya has the right idea. Something is going on, we need to help Zane through this." The Sensei told them.
"Yes Sensei Wu." Kai, Jay, Nya and Cole said in duo.
"So where's Lloyd?" Kai said, noticing the missing green ninja.
"Did he even come to dinner?" Jay asked.
"I don't think he did…" Muttered Nya.
"Please, boys, go find my nephew before he gets hurt…" Sensei Wu mumbled, worried.
"Don't worry, we'll find Lloyd." Kai got up and walked out with Jay and Cole.
Zane walked around, looking around. He then noticed something shift in the tree. He noticed something green,
"Lloyd, is that you?" He asked.
"Hi Zane! I saw something up in the tree, I think it's a woman!" Lloyd happily shouted.
"Please get down from there." Zane sighed.
"I can't…That's sort of the problem…I can't go up, but I can't go down either." Lloyd mumbled.
Cynder groaned as she opened her dark brown eyes to hear the two talking. She sat up and grabbed her backpack. As soon as it was on her back, she covered it with her cloak and pulled her hood up.
She climbed down until she was at the branch Lloyd was on.
"See Zane! I was right! It was a per-" Lloyd began. Cynder had shoved him, Lloyd lost his balance and began to fall. Zane quickly caught him, both were breathing heavily.
"Please never do that again…" Zane muttered.
"T-The person shoved me!" Lloyd shouted, frightened. Zane put Lloyd down and began to climb the tree,
"Hey! Come here!" He shouted. Cynder jumped from the tree, flipping before she hit the ground, she took off running as soon as her feet hit the ground.
Zane let go of the tree and chased after her, he was unaware of who he was chasing. Cynder dodged Kai, Cole and Jay. Zane, on the other hand, smashed into Kai.
"Zane! Have you seen Lloyd?!" Kai shouted. Zane got up,
"Yes, he is back there." He pointed.
"Thanks dude. Why were you chasing that person?" Kai asked.
"That person shoved Lloyd off the branch he was sitting on." The blonde haired boy snorted.
"Zane!" Screamed Lloyd as he ran away from something. The little boy ran behind the boy with ice blue eyes.
"What's wrong?" Zane asked.
"Something was chasing me!" Lloyd shouted.
"Let's get out of here…" Mumbled Jay, who was trembling.
"Yeah, let's get out of here." Cole muttered as he started walking.
"You shoved a little boy out of a tree." Phantom said in an angry tone.
"I knew Zane would catch him, Phantom, so don't give me that tone." Amanda hissed.
"And what if he didn't?" The man with light blue hair snorted.
"Then I would have caught the kid. Besides the kid was too scared to climb down, I wasn't just going to make him sit there, that would have been boring." Cynder laughed.
"I hate you, you know that?" Phantom hissed.
"I love you too." The girl with dark brown eyes purred.
"D-Did you just say you love me…?" Phantom stuttered before he continued "You've never said that you love me before…"
"You know I love you, don't you?" Amanda asked, concerned.
"Yeah…I do…It's just you never say you love me…" Phantom mumbled.
"Well I do love you." Cynder chuckled gently.
"I love you too, Amanda ." Phantom chuckled.
"Good, I'm happy to hear that." The auburn haired girl smiled.
As soon as the others were back at the Bounty, they were preparing for bed.
"So, you ever going to tell us what that dream was about?" Kai asked.
"No, because it is personal." Zane muttered, looking away.
"How can a dream be personal?" Jay asked, confused.
"When it is a buried memory and not a dream." Zane grumbled, placing his toothbrush in the container for toothbrushes and walking away.
"Whoa…He must really not want to talk about his dream…" Jay muttered.
"That means we need to try harder to get him to tell us what it was about. He needs to get it out." Kai continued to brush his teeth.
"Isn't that a dangerous thing to do? I mean won't it just make him shut us out?" Cole asked.
"Maybe, but he needs our support, he's in pain." Kai sighed.
"We know that, but we just don't want him pushing us away so many times that he stops listening to us." Jay mumbled.
"We'll stop bothering him about it after tomorrow, okay?" Kai muttered.
"Alright, fine." Jay agreed.
Zane sighed as he sat on his bed, he did not want to go to sleep. He knew he would only have another bad dream.
"Why do they want to help me so badly? I don't deserve to be helped…" Zane muttered in a low voice. He did not wish to wake Lloyd.
"You do deserve help." Zane yelped at Lloyd's voice. Lloyd sat up and smiled,
"Lloyd? I thought you were sleeping." Zane sighed.
"I never went to sleep. I just pretended to sleep, I kind of had a feeling something like this would happen. So I stayed awake so I could hear what you'd say so I could help." Lloyd climb out of his bed and walked over to Zane's.
"You shouldn't have done that…You need your rest…" The boy with ice blue eyes muttered.
"So do you, but I can tell that you're too scared to sleep! Would you please tell me what's wrong…Please?" Lloyd whined. Zane sighed and looked at the little boy,
"Will you go to bed if I tell you what's wrong?" He asked in a slightly strict tone.
"I will go to bed if you tell me what's wrong." Lloyd climbed onto Zane's bed.
"My memory…Or dream, whatever it was…It showed a woman, who I believe was my mother, and she died in it. She died because of me. I was foolish enough to play with a Ouija board…You don't play with a Ouija board, especially when you're in the hospital." Zane mumbled quietly.
"Why were you in the hospital?" Lloyd asked.
"I assume it was because I had cancer…Or why else would I be getting chemotherapy?" The boy with ice blue eyes looked away.
"But you're a nindroid, how do you get cancer?" Lloyd shifted, awkwardly.
"I…I don't think I was always a robot…I think I'm a copy…That I'm not the original…" Zane had tears in his eyes.
"Oh...But if they were memories, how could you be recovering them?" Lloyd yawned.
"I do not know…But I am a copy…" Tears dripped from Zane's cheeks before he continued "My mother was pregnant, Lloyd…It was my fault she and my sibling died…"
"What killed her?" Lloyd looked away, feeling awkward.
"Elevator doors smashed her to pieces…" Zane muttered, going over the memory in his head. Lloyd snapped his fingers in front of Zane,
"Elevators kill people, it happens. So please, don't blame yourself. Maybe it was a dream that the alcohol caused?" Lloyd suggested before he continued "Maybe your systems don't like alcohol?"
"Maybe…But I doubt it.." Zane sighed. The boy with dark green eyes sighed and hugged Zane,
"No matter what, even if you caused it…I still love you like an older brother…Okay?" The little boy mumbled, sadly. Zane hugged the green ninja back,
"I'll be alright, Lloyd. Please go to bed." He broke the embrace.
"Fine…But we're talking about this tomorrow." Lloyd crossed his arms.
"Alright, fine. Now go to bed." Zane chuckled. Lloyd got up and walked back to his bed. Lloyd crawled onto his bed and got comfortable before he fell asleep.
"Please, don't concern yourself with my problems, little one…They aren't that important…" Zane laid back on his bed. He began to feel exhausted as he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.
"Hey Zane, how are you feeling?" A man entered the room, smiling.
"Hey Doctor Julien…Dad…How are you doing…?" Zane quietly asked, not even sitting up.
"I'm fine, Zane. How are you doing, that's my concern. Your doctor said you're getting worse. He said that you aren't even fighting it anymore…I know mom died, and I know Markus died…But that isn't a reason to give up..." Dr. Julien told Zane as he walked over.
"I'm fine…I just…I don't want to fight anymore…It's my fault mom's dead, and Markus…Did the vet say why he died?" The blonde haired boy asked.
"Yes, Markus died due to an illness he had. They said he died because he stopped fighting it, like you've done. He could feel how you were feeling…Zane…Please…You need to fight this…I don't want to lose my son too!" Dr. Julien had tears in his eyes.
"You're my only family left, please Zane…Don't leave me! You have to fight this!" Dr. Julien's tears dripped onto the floor.
"Dad…I'm alright…I'll be fine, I promise…" Zane sat up, he forced himself to smile.
"Zane…Please…" Dr. Julien sat on the bed and hugged his son close.
"I know, Dad…I'm not going anywhere…" Zane lazily hugged his father.
"You have more family, dad, you wouldn't be alone." The boy with ice blue eyes muttered. Dr. Julien held his son at arm's length so that he could look into the younger boys eyes,
"I might have a sister and a brother, Zane, but they could care less about me. You are my only family left, Zane. Please…Please…I'm begging you, don't leave me…" The man with dark brown hair cried.
"I'm sorry…" Zane sighed and hugged his father.
"Don't apologize…Just fight this…Please…" The doctor wept.
"I will, dad…I will…For you, Markus and mom…I will…" Zane said, slightly determined.
"Thank you, Zane…I love you." Dr. Julien smiled.
"I love you too, dad." Zane smiled. Something in Dr. Julien's pocket beeped, he broke the embrace and took it out.
"Guess my pager says I've got work to do. I'll be back before you go to your chemo, alright?" The dark brown haired man told the young boy.
"See you in two hours." Zane waved as Dr. Julien left the room.
Zane sat up as the sun shown in his face, tears dripped from his cheeks. He looked around to see Kai opening the window.
"Another bad dream?" Kai asked as he stretched out.
"Sort of…It felt sad, but it was not scary." Zane pushed the covers off before getting up and stretching out.
"I'd still say that means it was a bad dream. Well let's go make breakfast." Kai smiled.
"Since when do you wish to could breakfast with me?" Zane chuckled as he made his bed.
"Well I considered you needed some company, so let's go make some pancakes." Kai walked over to Zane.
"Thanks, Kai." Zane rubbed his eyes before grabbing out his handkerchief. He wiped his face off, he folded his handkerchief and placed it in his shirt's pocket. The two walked out together.
Cynder groaned as she woke up, she looked around. She got up and unsheathed Phantom's blade,
"Where am I?!" She shouted. Lord Garmadon walked in,
"Calm down, I found you passed out on the floor so I put you in my bed. Relax, your fine." He grumbled. Cynder sheathed the blade and jumped off the bed.
"Where's my backpack?" Amanda demanded. Garmadon pointed to beside the bed,
"Right there, now for today's orders. Personally, I don't care if Zane's gone crazy yet, I trust he will in time. Anyways, I want you to kill one of the ninjas and make it look like he killed said person in his sleep." The man with red eyes smirked deviously.