Chosen by Destiny

This is it! The clones will get what's coming for them & some BIG stuff's gonna happen between Zane & Heather near the end! Knowing the title of this chapter, it CAN'T be good.

Be prepared for action, drama, and one graphic spider-filled scene!


Chapter 8: Black Tears

The evil ninjas sped through the roads of Ninjago City in the Ultra Sonic Raider, going WAY past the speed limits, buzzing past red lights, and blatantly ignoring innocent citizens trying to make their way around the city. Their master, Lord Garmadon, appeared on the screen.

"So, have you pinpointed the ninjas' location?"

"They're at Darkley's." The evil Cole responded.

"And Zane, did you manage to fool the girl?"

The white clone sighed in humiliation. "I apologize, but I failed to accomplish my task, for I have underestimated the wench and her abilities."

"No matter," Garmadon decided to brush off the little bump in his plan, "You can deal with her and the other girl later, but at least we know where the ninjas are. Go to Darkley's, and destroy them!" The dark lord commanded from the Dark Bounty.

"It'll be our pleasure."


"Ha ha! Stop tickling me!" Jay's laugh echoed in the dark passageway.

"Dude, no one's tickling you." Cole couldn't see anything. He can't even see his hand in front of him and this had nothing to do with the fact that he's wearing black.

"Zane! Turn on some light!"

Zane turned on the light switch in his arm and his entire face glowed like a light bulb. What they saw was NOT pretty.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Spiders! Spiders everywhere! If it couldn't get any worse, the ninjas didn't bring their weapons with them! This was one lovely situation the guys got themselves into.

"How the hell do we get rid of these things!? We don't have any weapons!" The lightning ninja tried to hide behind the others and away from the creepy crawling arachnids.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but we have the squish them!"

Kai raised his foot and…

SPLAT!

The guys cringed at the undeniable crunching sound of the 'poor' critter's bones being crushed under their teammate's foot. The red ninja lifted his leg to display the remains.

"Eeewwww, Kai! That's disgusting!"

They could see the stringy slimy guts, gnarled detached legs, and damp flecks of flesh sticking to the bottom of Kai's shoe. Zane lowered the wattage in his face in a vain attempt to reduce the feelings of repulsion caused by the gruesome display. It looked like something straight from the kitchen whenever Cole cooked! The black ninja himself lost his appetite for cake just looking at it, and that's saying a LOT!

"Did you REALLY have to do that?" Jay grimaced.

"Hey, it works." Kai dismissed the blue ninja's disgust and went back to crushing spiders. Sure it was gross, but the ninjas had no choice. Swallowing their pride, the guys followed suit and went on a stomp-fest all over the creepy creatures. The faster they get out, the better.


Lloyd wasn't faring any better than the ninjas or the kunoichi. Being tied up in ropes in a room with just a light bulb to illuminate the area surrounded by faces old and new, he felt like one of those guys who get interrogated in those cheesy police movies. He wasn't sure if it'll work, but the youth attempted one of those confusing mind games in order to trick Gene and the others into releasing him.

"Thank you for saving me, guys." The blonde boy tried to make his words sound believable as possible. "It's such a relief getting away from those annoying ninjas, I just couldn't STAND them and their stupid 'morals'. You can go ahead and untie me now!" The boys weren't convinced by Lloyd's ruse and surrounded their hostage.

"How do we know whether or not you're lying just so you can crawl back to the ninjas?" Brad, Lloyd's former roommate, glared at him. 'Uh-oh! Can't believe they caught me! Gotta come up with something!' Lloyd's mind raced for a way to dupe the others. "Well, if I'm good, I wouldn't be lying to you, WHICH I'M NOT, but if I were, wouldn't that make me technically evil? It'll go to show that I'm just like you guys and you could release me!"

"You liar!" Gene accused Lloyd in his nasally voice. "You're trying to trick us with mind games!"

Before the boys could try anything, crashes were heard outside. Even Lloyd was startled.

What the hell was going on?


Star and Leaf flew as fast as they could towards Darkley's.

"Nya!" Heather called from Leaf.

"What is it?"

"I need to ask you something!"

"Go ahead!"

"It's about Zane." That brought Nya's attention. Why would Heather be so concerned with the nindroid? Well, she couldn't blame the new kunoichi, given the situation, but still…

"Have at it."

"Is Zane a human?" Now THAT caught the yellow kunoichi off guard. 'If I tell Heather, she'll be heartbroken! I can't tell her 'you're in love with a machine'!'

"W-w-why are you asking me this?"

"The evil Zane hinted that Zane may actually be something else entirely. I asked Sensei but he refused to say anything. I was hoping you have the answer."

"I-I'm sorry. Y-you'll have to get your answer from Zane."

"WHY DOES EVERYBODY KEEP TELLING ME THIS!? WHAT'S UP WITH ZANE ANWAY!? WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO HIDE!?"

Nya was taken aback by Heather. The normally calm girl was getting pissed and she didn't mean to make things worse for her.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I… really like Zane… but what the evil clone said about him... was really creepy. I don't know what to expect."

"Don't worry about that now. You'll know sooner or later. But we can't dwell on that now, we have to hurry and find the guys!"

"Right!"

The girls and their dragons continued on their way, hoping they won't be too late.


The ninjas were at their limits in the dark dank tunnel. All the crushed spiders left the soles of their shoes covered in guts, the tight space made them feel cramped, and having no weapons made them feel like defenseless puppies out in the figurative storm. After what seemed like an eternity, they bumped into a wall.

"Great! A dead end!" Kai slammed his fists against the wall in frustration.

"I believe that's the way out. I can sense a faint wind issuing forth from beyond the wall." Zane brushed his hands against the plaster, eventually finding a crack.

"There's a chance this could be a door. Now everybody, help me open it."

The four ninjas used all their might to push their bodies against the wall. Within seconds, the door opened, sending the guys falling face-first into the ground.

"We're out!" Cole was very happy to get out of the tunnel. "Finally!"

Realizing they had bits of spiders on their shoes, the ninjas awkwardly scraped the guts off on the floor. Now if they can just find Lloyd and get this over with.

"What the- !?"

The ninjas perked up at Jay's voice and faced…

THEMSELVES!?

"Um, this is getting too weird for us. We'll just stay in here until it's over!" The teachers backed away and slammed the door shut.

"Cowards..." Kai muttered under his breath.

The clones glared at the original ninjas, taking off their sunglasses and revealing their red eyes. Red eyes like Garmadon's. The evil Cole carried that Brad kid in his arm.

"Drop the boy, um… me!"

"He's of no use to us anymore!" The black doppelganger dropped the boy, letting him run away from the scene.

"It's time to face," the evil Kai sneered, "the worst day of your pathetic lives!"

"I told you not to say that!" Jay hissed at the real Kai about his statement in the locked office.

"My earliest assessment tells me this must be Garmadon's doing."

"My earliest assessment tells me YOU will be destroyed!"

"NINJA-GO!" The good and evil ninjas charged at each other, exchanging fists. The ninjas and clones were too busy fighting to notice that Lloyd escaped and the other boys followed him.

"See! I told you my friends aren't evil. The evil ninjas are just clones created by my father."

"Fascinating…" Gene, for some reason, gained interest from Lloyd's words. "The clones are like reflections of a mirror. Their movements mimic each other, but at the same time, oppose one another, in perfect sync, and not one of them can land a blow."

"We must help them!"

"Which them?" Lloyd didn't like the smile on Gene's face.

"My friends, of course!" Again, the boys were ganging up on them.

"I-I-I mean the EVIL ninjas!" The green ninja cackled, attempting to sound evil…

"GODDAMMIT!"

Poor Lloyd was tied up for a third time in the classroom. Yup, this was DEFINITELY his day.


The kunoichi finally made it to Darkley's, but…

"We're too late!" Heather and Nya were shocked by the ugly wreckage before them. Tire marks marred the courtyard, much of the stone fence was demolished, and the Ultra Sonic Raider was parked in front, covered in mud. All evidence of the evil ninjas' presence. The girls pressed their ear against the locked doors and they can barely hear faint banging sounds coming from inside. The ninjas were in danger! They tried to open the doors but they were locked. Nya tried to use the Steel Kunai, but they didn't work.

"Nya! I can control the element of nature with my staff! Perhaps if I can use my powers on the wood of these doors, I might be able to open them!"

The metal kunoichi stepped aside for Heather to approach the door, placing the tip of her staff against the wooden door, attempting to communicate with the natural material.

'If you can hear me, please, let us in. Our friends are in danger and we must help them.'

The teal kunoichi cleared her mind, only thinking about getting in the building and helping Zane and the others. As if granting her request, the wood shriveled and the planks curled away from the staff, allowing the kunoichi entrance into the school. Not wanting to waste more time, they ran straight ahead towards the source of the banging sounds.


No matter what the ninjas tried, they can't even hit the doppelgangers! The guys were at their limits, but the clones weren't.

"These guys' abilities are just like ours! No matter what we do, we can't land a blow!" Jay barely managed to complain whilst dodging his evil copy and vainly attempting to punch him.

"We can't give up! Just keep going!" Kai was also having a tough time against his evil self, but there's NO way in Ninjago he'll let Garmadon win!

"NINJA-GO!"

Both good and evil ninjas turned around to see Lloyd charging from the end of the hall, leading the boys who were all wearing clothes in red, white, blue, and black. Heading straight into the battlefield, the colorful group left the enemies unable to tell who was a ninja, and who was just a boy dressed up as one. The one side effect was that the good ninjas got confused as well.

"Guys!"

The good ninjas and Lloyd faced the direction of the call to meet Nya and Heather.

"Nya! Heather! How did you get here!?" Kai asked from amidst the chaos.

"Sensei Wu told us about the clones! We've come to help!" Nya and Heather brandished their weapons and charged into the battle too.

"Don't let the numbers confuse you!" Heather called out to the group. "Target the ninjas with red eyes!" The teal kunoichi instructed the boys before hitting the evil Kai in the torso with her staff. The kids knew she was a girl with her voice, but this was no time to get grossed out by a couple of cootie carriers! There was a fight that had to be won!

First to go was the evil Cole, who was trapped by some of the kids surrounding him and the one way out was blocked by…

"GOODBYE!" Cole finally punched his evil copy right in the face, leaving nothing a cloud of black smoke where the clone used to be.

The siblings of fire and metal ganged up on the red clone. Without his weapon, Kai resorted to his fists but couldn't defeat his clone. But the clone didn't realize it was two against one and he ended up getting sucked into a sparkling gold twister. Kai watched as his evil copy disappeared in a black mist once his sister halted her spinning form.

"Nya!"

"What, Kai?"

"I was supposed to finish him off!"

Jay still attempted to hit his clone, only for the evil ninja to catch his fist in his own hand.

"Huh, wouldn't have guessed the dumbest of the ninja would be paired up with that stupid cat, Nya." The evil Jay taunted the real blue ninja.

"What was that?" The lightning ninja growled menacingly.

"If it weren't for her idiocy, I wouldn't have gotten the Ultra Sonic Raider. Pity she's dating you, cuz she's a real looker. Could've ended up with me." 'Jay' gloated at the good ninja.

With a loud thunderous roar, the real Jay caught his evil clone's arm and twisted it painfully. He flipped through the air grabbing the doppelganger before he could recover and beat him into a pile of black dust.

"NOBODY says ANYTHING terrible about my girl!"

The nature kunoichi tried to help Zane look for his evil self. Before she could make her move, a hand grasped both of hers. Heather turned around to come face-to-face with the white clone.

"Well, if it isn't the rose with thorns?"

"Heather!" Zane rushed to her aid, but was stopped by his doppelganger when he gripped the girl's neck with his other hand, choking her.

"You move any closer, ninja of ice, and I will crush her, like a shrinking violet!"

Zane felt conflicted. He knew his clone showed no mercy, and if he tried to attack, the red-eyed ninja would most likely make good on his threat. But the kunoichi herself had other plans.

"Y-you already forgot…?" Heather managed to choke out. The robot doppelganger looked down at her with confusion.

"You may see me as a fragile flower, but I am graceful yet strong, just like the willow!"

With great determination, Heather squeezed her way out of the clone's grip.

"NINJA-GO!"

In front of the ninjas' eyes, Heather engulfed herself in a teal tornado. The kunoichi of nature spun across the hall in a flurry of windswept leaves which consumed the evil Zane. After seeing the last clone dissolve into nothing, the ninjas knew it was over and Heather stopped spinning.

"You did it!" Nya caught the nature kunoichi in a friendly hug. "You finally did Spinjitzu!"

"Really!? I have to say, I'm quite proud of myself!"

With the battle finally over, the young boys finally got a good look at the kunoichi. For obvious reasons, they weren't too thrilled.

"Lloyd, you didn't say there will be girl ninjas!" Brad hissed at the green ninja.

"B-But- I-I-I… wha- I- I mean…"

"Yes, we're girls," Heather said, "and what's wrong with that?"

"Well, you're GIRLS and girls can't fight!" Gene accused the kunoichi.

"Oh yeah? Then who helped you defeat the evil ninjas?" Nya retorted at the bespectacled boy.

Gene couldn't come up with a response. He didn't want to believe it but she was right. He held his tongue with reluctance.

"No matter whether you're a boy or girl," the teachers got out of the secret door to commend everyone, "you have all done well to defeat those minions. This calls for a celebration!"

"That means we'll finally have cake, right?" Cole asked desperately.

"Cake…?"

"Don't ask." Kai dismissed the teal kunoichi, exhausted after having had a VERY long day.


The group headed back to Ninjago City. The ninjas (sans Cole) in the Ultra Sonic Raider, Nya and Heather on their dragons, and Cole went solo on the Ultra Dragon, elated to FINALLY have the wonderful delicious cake he desperately missed.

"Nya, you won't mind taking the tank back to the shop tomorrow?" Kai called out to his sister.

"Nah, the damage isn't too serious, I'll be able to fix it up in a couple of days."

"Zane…"

"What is it, Heather?"

"When we get back to the apartment, I need to talk to you…alone…"

Zane wasn't sure what was going on, but somehow, he didn't like it. The others thought Zane was in trouble with Heather, but this was something for the ice ninja to face alone…


At the roof of the boys' apartment, the white ninja met the teal kunoichi, who had a concerned look on her rosy face.

'Heather…' Zane said in his head, 'please tell me what's troubling you…'

"Zane… Are you a human?"

Zane's breath caught in his throat, if it was possible for a nindroid. 'It's inevitable, I can't delay the truth any longer.' The ice ninja thought. 'I knew this moment would come and I have always dreaded it ever since I met her. If I tell her, she will think of me in a completely different light. But I can't lie to her either. As Jay says, here goes nothing…'

"No."

Heather's eyes were wide as dinner plates, her body shaking uncontrollably, heart racing at top speed, and gasping for breath.

"T-then, w-w-who or w-what are you…?"

"I am an android, a humanoid robot, built to defend those who can't defend themselves. Look, I'll show you."

Zane took off only his gi and undershirt, exposing his slender yet strong alabaster body. Heather couldn't help but blush at the spectacle. Why, oh why did Zane's creator, whoever he was, had to build such a handsome robot!? Feeling a faint bump on his torso, he opened the panel on his body and exposed his true form to her. Heather stared at the man- no, machine in front of her. Wires, switches, gears, and all sorts of gadgets whirred and buzzed within the ice ninja's body.

"Heather, I am so sorry for not telling you before, but please, if you- "

"Stay back." Heather backed away from Zane, her words dripping with venom.

The worst of Zane's fears came to pass. Heather couldn't see him the same way anymore.

"I-I've been a fool, entrusting myself to some heartless machine that can't feel love." Heather began to back away, her voice gradually rising. Why did this have to happen to her!?

Zane, fearing the worst, put his gi back on and tried to approach the kunoichi of nature.

"Please, Heather-"

"DON'T SAY MY NAME! STAY AWAY FROM ME! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" The teal kunoichi screamed in rage, her face reddened with fury, hot angry tears running down her face.

Nya, curious of Heather's reaction to Zane's true identity, ascended upon the roof just in time to see Heather whistling for Leaf. There could be only one plausible reason for her to do this…

"GUYS! IT'S AN EMERGENCY! HEATHER'S LEAVING US!"

By the time Heather got onto her dragon, the others rushed to the rooftop. This wasn't good! If one of the kunoichi leaves them, what will happen to Ninjago!?

"Heather! Don't do this!" Cole tried to appeal to the inconsolable girl. "Think about what you're doing! Everyone in Ninjago needs you here! We need you! Zane needs you!"

"I CAN'T STAY HERE! I-I JUST WANT TO GET AWAY! AWAY FROM THAT… THAT… THING!"

'Thing… thing…thing…' Heather's last word echoed in Zane's head. He would've never thought one simple word could hurt him more than the fangs of the Serpentine.

"HEATHER! NO!"

It was too late. Leaf flew away, too far for the kunoichi of nature to hear her teammates' cries. The group looked at Zane, as frozen has his element, gazing in the direction Heather took off, his crystal eyes blank with despair.

"Zane…?" The earth ninja placed a hand on the ice ninja's shoulder. He flinched. Something the nindroid almost never did.

"Leave me. I want to be alone." Zane barely managed to whisper in a shaky voice, feeling like every gear in his mechanical being was shattered into millions of pieces. Before the ninjas could intervene, Nya shooed them back into the building, knowing the ice ninja needed some time to himself, deciding to check back on him in the morning…

The ninjas woke up in their room, noticing that Zane never came back. His bed was still tidy.

"What do you think happened to Zane?" Jay felt terrible for his brother. He couldn't imagine how he would feel if Nya rejected him for any reason.

"I'll go check on him." Kai didn't bother to change out of his pajamas and headed up towards the roof where Zane was. Greeting him in the sunrise was the nindroid, still staring at the sky in the same position.

"Zane?" Kai approached the nindroid and was greeted by an extremely disturbing sight.

Zane's unearthly pale face was stained with black oil running down from his optics, staining his white clothes, as if he was crying.

"Zane, were you… crying?"

The nindroid touched his damp cheek, looking at the oil on his fingers. He never knew his optics were leaking until that moment. He saw so many people cry whenever they were sad but never thought he could do it, even if he experienced the feelings of sadness. Since robots didn't have tear ducts, his optics leaked with crude oil. For the first time since he was activated, the white ninja had shed tears.

Black tears.


Wow…

I am one sick bitch, but I have my reasons.

Most fics with Zane being paired up with an OC has the girl accept him being a robot straight away. But I wanted 2 take a more realistic approach. If a girl in real life was told the love of her life was not a human, she most likely wouldn't take it very well as seen with Heather. But don't worry, I'm not (completely) heartless. Zane & Heather will still end up together, they just need 2 resolve this issue (hopefully soon).

Now let me fetch my 'raging fangirl' shield & bring on the reviews!