AN: Woo-hoo, last chapter! I'm so happy to have been able to share this alternate ending, no matter how painful it is, with all of you. I'm planning on writing a semi-sequel for Ninjago Angst Week, so keep an eye out for that this upcoming week. This chapter's title is from "Come On Get Higher" by Matt Nathanson, which I do not own. Thank you all for reading!

The thirteen judges of the Ninjago Supreme Court exited the room to discuss what to decide, and Nya let out a long breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. This was it. She had argued their point as well as she could; it was up to the judges now.

Behind her, Kai and Lloyd were murmuring quietly, about what, Nya couldn't hear. She turned toward them, trying to hear better, but couldn't, so she decided to take stock of the others instead. Cole and Wu were staring at the door through which the judges would return, an interesting mix of dread and hope on both of their faces. Jay...

Jay was staring at Zane.

Nya got up and went to Jay, standing beside his seat. "Hey."

Jay startled, gaze flying to her. He apparently had been so focused on Zane that he hadn't noticed her approaching. "Uh, hey. Hi."

"What are you thinking about?" Nya asked as casually as she could manage.

"That terrible remote control thing Azizi's got," Jay said bitterly. "Can you believe it? Not only does Zane not get to be thought of as a person, but he doesn't even get to choose what he does. The way she bragged to us after she turned Zane's sight and hearing off, the way she talked about being able to control everything about him with just a few pressed buttons, it gets me so, so, so mad. You saw what happened when she pulled the remote out, right?"

Nya nodded sadly. "The way Zane winced."

"Uh-huh," Jay agreed, scowling at the floor. "Were you thinking about the remote control too?"

"No, actually. I was thinking about all the things we're going to do when we get Zane back," Nya stated.

Jay perked up a little at the word "when." "Yeah?"

"Yeah. So, first we're going to do a group hug right then and there, of course. Then we'll get him back to the academy, where we'll get him all fixed up in whatever ways he needs," Nya explained, voice warming up and getting louder as she spoke. "Then we'll have a big party, or a small party, or just a little gathering if that's what Zane wants, with lots of laughter, lots of games, and lots of food, of course."

"That sounds like it's going to be nice," Jay said wistfully.

"It will be nice," Nya asserted. "It will be."

The woman who had announced the judges when they came in the first time entered the room and cleared her throat.

Nya hurried back to her seat, getting there just in time.

"All rise for the honorable Ninjago Supreme Court judges!" The woman proclaimed.

The judges began filing back into the room, taking their seats. They looked stern, each face schooled into the same serious, stony style.

Nya's heart started to sink, but she forced herself to remain positive. It will turn out okay. It will turn out okay. It will.

"You may be seated," the announcer woman told the room.

As the judges and the other occupants of the courtroom alike began taking their seats, Nya saw Azizi pull the remote control from her pocket with a flourish. She coughed pointedly as she faced Azizi, trying to get the attention of Kai, Cole, Lloyd, Jay, and Sensei Wu, and from the shuffling and gasping behind her, Nya succeeded.

"I want the robot to fully experience knowing that it's my property now and forever," Azizi said smugly, looking directly at Nya.

Nya scowled at her, wanting to turn away but instead choosing to watch as Azizi pressed a few buttons and Zane's formerly blank countenance took on life again.

Looking around as Azizi slipped the remote back in her pocket, Zane glanced over at Nya with wide, confused-but-hopeful eyes.

Nya gestured at the judges still settling in and mouthed, "No decision yet."

Zane nodded, sat up straighter, and looked to the front of the room intently.

The woman who had announced the judges left the room, and the chief justice stood from her seat. "As Chief Justice Minos, I have the honor of giving you our ruling. The majority opinion of the court is as follows."

The room seemed to be holding its breath, from Azizi and her security officers to Nya and the ninja.

"The robot known as 'Zane Julien' is a person," Chief Justice Minos stated.

Nya's heart pounded in her ears, overtaking all other sounds and rendering all she saw to a silent scene. She saw the room as if in a hazy feverish dream, snippet after snippet: Chief Justice Minos finishing speaking, Zane sitting oh-so-still with eyes oh-so-wide, the press's cameras clicking and pens scribbling, Azizi standing and shouting at the judges furiously.

The haze seemed to pop, and everything rushed back into focus and full-swing.

"-Is an incredible injustice!" Azizi was shrieking, slamming her hands down on her desk.

Although Azizi was still speaking, still raging, still pounding her fists on her desk, Nya ignored her. Instead of paying the angry woman any mind, Nya stood and walked back to Kai, Lloyd, Jay, Cole, and Sensei Wu. She grinned at them.

They grinned back, clambering to their feet.

"Let's go get Zane back," Nya said a little breathlessly, and she turned and led the way across the courtroom, stopping in front of the desk where Zane sat between two muscular people in security officer uniforms.

Zane, who had been staring into space as if he couldn't believe what was happening (and maybe that was exactly what was happening, he couldn't believe it), blinked and focused on their group as they came to a stop. A tiny, hesitant smile formed on his face.

"Hey," Nya said lightly. "Ready to go home?"

Zane didn't say a word. He just hesitated, putting his hands on the table in a meaningful display that he was handcuffed to the person on either side of him.

"Oh. Okay. Uh, you two need to let him go, right now," Nya commanded the two apparent security officers.

"Won't," one grunted.

"Can't," the other corrected.

"Not able to," the first agreed.

"What do you mean, you're not able to?" Jay asked incredulously, voice cracking on the word "not."

"You'd better be able to, and you'd better hope you're able to real quick," Kai growled menacingly.

"We don't have the key," the second officer said quickly, looking like he wished he was anywhere but there.

"Azizi has the key," the first explained, pointing with the hand that didn't have her handcuffed to Zane at the still-screaming woman.

"Well, let's go talk to Azizi, then," Nya declared, side-stepping over to lead the group to stand in front of Azizi. Nya said brightly to the yelling woman, "Hi there! Remember me?"

Azizi paused in her rant to scowl at Nya. "Of course I remember you."

"Good! Your memory's in working order!" Nya said cheerfully. "That means you also remember the fact that the judges just declared Zane a person not five minutes ago."

"I remember," Azizi said through gritted teeth.

"Then we're going to need you to hand over the key to get him unhandcuffed," Nya said patiently.

"And I would recommend you hand it over pretty soon, because Kai's getting a little antsy, and that doesn't bode well for you," Cole added.

Fumbling around in her pockets with hands shaking from pure rage, Azizi pulled out the remote control, then dropped it because her hands were shaking so much.

Before Azizi could pick it up, Lloyd stepped forward and scooped it up, cradling it carefully so as not to press any buttons. "I think we'll take this off your hands for you."

"No, you will not!" Azizi objected. "You're taking my robot, you can't take my remote control too!"

"Well, you could keep it, and then we could turn you in for possession of a device created for the intent of torture that's already been used on someone multiple times," Nya said sweetly. "Or we could take it and destroy it for you. Your choice."

Azizi's mouth gaped open. She stared at Nya wordlessly for a long moment, breathing heavily.

"Your choice," Sensei Wu prompted her.

"Your choice," Kai repeated smugly, clearly enjoying Azizi being at a loss for words.

"Fine. Keep it. Keep the remote control, keep the robot, keep the keys and the handcuffs for all I care," Azizi said finally, finding the key in her pocket at long last and tossing it to the ground. She smiled cruelly. "I have enough research to keep me going for the rest of my life."

"You do that," Nya said casually, picking up the key and tossing it back and forth between her hands. "Just remember, Zane's a person, which means that you can't publish any papers about him without his consent."

Azizi's jaw dropped again. Apparently she hadn't thought of that.

Smiling widely, Nya turned and led the group a few steps back over to stand in front of Zane, who had been watching their conversation with wide eyes. Quickly, Nya unlocked the handcuffs and grabbed them, passing them and the key over to Cole, who spun around and chucked them halfway across the room, right into a trash can.

"Ready to go home?" Nya asked again.

Zane still didn't speak. He just nodded and stood, walking unsteadily around the desk to join the group. He gave them that same tiny, hesitant smile again as they gathered around him and swarmed him with hugs. It took a good minute, but eventually they had hugged him enough to reassure themselves that he was really there and was coming home with them.

"Off we go then!" Lloyd said cheerfully once the hugs stopped, and he sprinted away from the group, past the spectator's seats where their family, friends, and allies still sat, calling to them as he passed, "We're going! Let's go!"

The rest of their group followed, surrounding Zane and bearing him along as their allies followed them.

Lloyd made it all the way to the huge doors leading out of the courtroom and tugged them open before stopping and waiting for the group, now made of more people as their allies joined them. The large group swept out of the courtroom, down a flight of stairs, through a maze of hallways, into the open air, and then up to the old bus that had transported the initial group to the courthouse. They piled onto the bus, starting to chatter back and forth with relief even as they glanced worriedly at Zane, who still hadn't said a word.

Nya closed the door behind the last stragglers into the bus and started it up, driving down long streets, making her way back to the academy. She participated in the various conversations, but only on the surface level. Most of her attention was focused on driving. Or at least, that's what she told herself she focused her attention on.

The bus parked at the academy and its riders piled out, most of them dispersing into the building on Wu's firm instructions to pull together ingredients for a party in the biggest conference room. Kai, Cole, Jay, Nya, and Lloyd, however, stayed seated in the bus, watching Zane, who stared into the distance out the nearest window and showed no signs of planning on getting up.

"...Zane?" Lloyd said tentatively after a moment.

Zane startled hard. Glancing around wildly, he looked confused at finding himself on a bus surrounded by his friends, but after a moment he gave them a little smile nonetheless.

"Wanna go in?" Cole prompted, standing.

After a moment, Zane stood too. The rest of them stood as well. Slowly, the group made their way off the bus and into the academy, Nya taking the lead. She guided them down the familiar halls and past room after room.

"Wu said we're having the party in that conference room, so why aren't we going straight there?" Kai asked when it became evident they were heading away from the large conference room they had been using as a sort of base of operations..

"I think we should have a little talk before we start partying," Nya stated. She stopped in front of a classroom. "Here will work."

Kai looked mildly confused and also a little put-out.

Nya tilted her head meaningfully toward Zane, who was staring at his own feet.

Getting it, Kai nodded and opened the classroom door, letting everyone in before entering and closing the door behind him. He leaned against the wall, watching as Jay and Lloyd took seats in student desks, Cole leaned against the teacher's desk, Nya leaned against the board, and Zane just stood there, eyes still focused on his feet.

"Well, it took several weeks longer than we expected it to take, but we beat Azizi in court," Nya said casually.

"Go, ninja!" Jay cheered. "And also samurai, and ninja and samurai's family and friends!"

"Go us," Nya agreed. "But it cost us a lot. Specifically, it cost you a lot, Zane."

At the sound of his name, Zane finally looked up from his feet. His eyes darted from face to face, finally settling on Nya.

"It's beyond good to see you again," Nya began.

"Way beyond good," Cole agreed.

"But it's also concerning, given all that you went through. "I know you probably aren't ready to hear this, but we're worried about you," Nya stated carefully. "Are you doing okay?"

Zane thought about that for a moment. Finally, he said softly, "No. I am, I am not fine."

Lloyd drew in a sharp breath.

Kai hissed angrily, obviously taking personal offense to the fact that Azizi had hurt his brother enough that Zane would admit to not being fine.

Nya winced.

"I am not fine," Zane repeated. Then he smiled, a real, full, slightly broken but genuine smile. "But I am home. So, though I am not fine now, I will be."