The first thing Zane felt after the darkness was a ripping pain. He thought like he was being torn in half. Then, everything was calm. Zane opened his blue eyes and gasped.

In front of him stood a glitchy, broken copy of himself. Only the outside details seemed to show, especially in personality. This 'copy' was wise and calm, yet it had a bold side as well. It was much bolder than him. Zane gave up. He died.

Zane was aware of the approaching steps behind him, yet he didn't care to worry about it. It was probably some reaper, or a guardian angel. Something normal, yet foreign for robots like him. No, he was a nindroid. He saved his family instead of dying in a failed world from power failures. He should have been proud, but in the aftermath, he wasn't. He was guilty.

"Hey!" The footsteps stopped. Someone was talking to him! "Hey! Zane!" Zane sighed and turned around to face an older ghost, angel, or something Zane couldn't recognize. "Buddy," he sighed.

Zane frowned. "How can you be my 'buddy' if I don't even know you?" The other being shrugged. "That's true." The being shook his head. "Look, sir," he apologized. "I'm sorry."

Zane facepalmed. "About what?" he snapped. "I chose to die in this way! I don't regret it!" The being smiled. "Ah," he murmured. "That's where you are wrong!" He giggled awkwardly. "I'm Glace, your local guardian angel."

Zane smiled sarcastically. "And I guess you're my reaper as well," he sighed. Glace laughed. "What!?" he gasped. "No! I'm not your reaper at all! Guardian angels are totally different from reapers, kid!" Glace quickly added something else in before Zane could say anything. "I'm also the previous master of ice, sir!"

Zane was stunned into silence. "There we go," Glace sighed. "Let me explain why there are a lack of reapers here." Zane nodded and let Glace continue. Glace walked up to stand beside the copy. "You were chosen to act as a guardian angel to another mortal. I think you know him well. After your death, he attempted to stay with the others, but his internal issues were way too much. He left his family, feeling driven away and alone. Now, he silently uses his strength to fell trees."

Zane narrowed his eyes. "You were hinting on Cole, weren't you?" Glace nodded. "All you have to do is watch over him. You can choose to do this in any way. You can go with the vague dream sequences, you can act as a watching ghost that only Cole can see, or you can be completely invisible. It's your choice."

Zane shugged. There is not much else he can do. "Fine," he murmured. "I can do that." Glace grinned. "You're a smart kid. That's why I chose you to be the ice heir and Cole's guardian angel."

"As for the copy," Glace explained. "I was planning on using it for a particular way to pull the ninja back together. It won't know that it's not you and will never be able to identify you properly, either. I just needed to copy your memories. Unfortunately, the personality seems to be slightly off. It won't be very noticable, but it will act slightly more human and knowing." Zane frowned. "And why do I need a copy?"

Glace nodded. "Good question!" Glace glanced at the copy. "Code: Titanium, here is supposed to be your temporary replacement." Zane narrowed his eyes. "I'm dead!"

Glace sighed. "Actually C.T. is supposed to be a supplementary soul to fill the new model she's building. "Who?" Zane asked. "It's Pixal!" Glace explained. "She found a way to replicate you, or she thinks. As for the reason C.T. exists, he will balance your new model for your return when you've finished your job!"

Zane nodded. "I guess that's the whole run on the basics?" Glace nodded. "Yep! Any moment, now, you could be brought back to Cole."

As Glace was saying that, the corners of his vision were starting to glow. Zane stumbled back, blindly. "It's always hard when it gets to this p-" Glace reassuring point was cut off and Zane slowly began to regain his sight.

He opened his eyes in a logging camp, just as a worker pushed through him without any effort. Zane shivered and then sighed. "I'm doing this for my family," he told himself.

Spotting Cole felling a branch from a towering redwood, Zane slowly approached his new job. Zane hoped that this was worth the trouble he went through, yester- wait. Zane gazed at a calendar on the side of a shack. "I've been out for four months!?" Zane groaned. Whatever was left of his internal clock was off-date!

A/N: This may be a bit depressing, but it was heavily inspired by Petpyves' animated series: Twelve (Youtube)