So this is an angsty Pixal/Lloyd story where Pixal cheats on Zane with Lloyd during season 9 and then dumps Zane when the ninja get back. Zane bottles up his heartbreak and when it's finally revealed, it could break the team.
It was a week after the ninja had gotten home safe from the first realm when Zane was approached by Pixal.
"We need to talk," she said
"What is it my love?" asked Zane
"Zane, over the past two weeks, I have well, not been very faithful to you, I admit I cheated on you with Lloyd, we grew close and well, in short, I think you and I need to break up," said Pixal. Zane was left speechless.
"I suppose, if that's what you truly want, I want you and Lloyd to be happy, especially after what Harumi did to him," said Zane
"I knew you'd understand," said Pixal, walking out of the room. Zane sank onto the couch, trying to comprehend what just happened, what was this awful, unending pain he suddenly felt? He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, what was this? He shakily got up and went to his room, he felt tears in his eyes. After everything they had been through, she left him, for Lloyd.
"I failed, I failed to make her happy, I failed to be the one she loved," he couldn't blame Lloyd no matter how much he wanted to, Lloyd needed a good person in his life, especially with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"I can't let them know this hurts, it will only upset Lloyd, and Lloyd has enough to deal with, he needs her," said Zane trying to calm himself. He wiped his eyes and went to the training course, each punch he threw made him calmer, it let him focus on something other than his broken heart. But if he stopped training his mind wandered back to how he failed to be perfect for Pixal so he trained, he trained until he had to make dinner, then once that was done he went back to training. The ninja were happy that Lloyd had a girlfriend who wasn't a villain, they forgot to ask Zane how he felt.
"Not good enough, not good enough," those words rang through Zane's head every time he hit the punching bag, even after a month he couldn't get past this feeling of heartbreak,
"Weak, unwanted, failure," the training equipment seemed to be mocking him. He wanted to scream each time Lloyd laughed, each time he heard Pixal say she loved Lloyd. The months passed in a blur for Zane, train, cook, train, cook, fight, train, cook, train. The other ninja had grown lazy. The next thing Zane knew that deviated from his pattern was Wu telling them they had a meeting in the monastery. The chicken was his new target, he could hardly feel the lighting it was spewing as he grabbed it's neck and hurled it against the wall. He left the room, throwing the unconscious bird at Wu's feet. That was the first clue to everyone that something was very off with Zane. The next few days Zane avoided the boobytraps by once again training till the wires in his hands came loose. Wu's final test was a battle against him. Zane blocked each of Wu's attacks. He was the only one who passed. Wu was now very worried about his student, he had never seen Zane that hostile, even in a real battle. Something was wrong with him. Zane had gone to his room to try to calm down, why was he suddenly so angry and violent? There was a soft knock on his door.
"Zane? Brother are you in there?" came Kai's voice
"Please leave," said Zane, his voice harsher than it usually was
"No Zane, I'm coming in," said Kai, Cole next to him. They opened the door to find Zane's room, not the normal pristine sight it normally was. It was a mess, pillows flat, bed unmade, books on the floor, shurikens dull. Zane was curled up on his bed, his breathing shaky. Kai ran to his brother, scared that something was very wrong. He and Cole pulled Zane close to them holding their brother.
"Zane, what's wrong buddy, you're scaring us," said Kai,
"I failed, I failed to be good enough for Pixal, I failed to be strong enough, I failed to make her happy, and now she's with Lloyd, after everything her and I went through together, the green ninja had to be the one to get her, I know I shouldn't be jealous of him but even with the world on his shoulders, he always gets what he wants in the end, a family, the girl, hero of Ninjago status, adoring fans when I lose everything he gains it. Even after all these months it still hurts, why?" cried Zane
"Oh Zane, why didn't you come to us about this, or talk to Lloyd?" asked Kai
"Because he needs to be happy, I get that, he's the one with this great destiny and is always under so much stress, I couldn't make him feel guilty about being happy," said Zane
"And what about you? Don't you think Lloyd would want to know that he hurt you? Or what about us? Zane, heartbreak isn't something that should be bottled up like this, we could have gotten you through this if you just trusted us to help you," said Kai, holding his sobbing brother close.
"Zane you are not a failure and this is not your fault, you should have come to us instead of bottling this up, please brother, next time something upsets you or worse, come to us," said Cole gently rubbing Zane's back. Zane had fallen asleep in Kai's arms, this was probably the only physical contact Zane had in months.
"I can't imagine how he's been feeling, he's probably been super lonely and I bet this is why he's been training so much, he needed something to keep his mind off his broken heart," said Cole. Wu came into the room, seeing Cole and Kai holding Zane.
"Did you two figure out what is bothering him?" asked Wu, walking over and gently running his hand through Zane's hair.
"Remember when Lloyd began dating Pixal? Well apparently that had started while we were in the first realm, the week after we got home, Pixal dumped Zane for Lloyd, Zane's heartbroken and thinks it's his fault, he doesn't want to blame Lloyd so he blames himself, thinking he did something wrong," said Kai
"I will speak with Lloyd, does he know he hurt Zane?" asked Wu
"Zane never told anyone until now how he was feeling, he didn't want to make Lloyd unhappy after finally being happy, he said a bunch of other stuff too but that's the gist of it," said Cole.
"Take care of your brother, make sure he isn't alone, Kai please ensure that Nya speaks with Pixal about the severity of her actions, a broken heart is not something to take lightly, I should know," said Wu, he knew exactly how Zane was feeling and wanted to ensure that his young student understood that it was most definitely not his fault.
"Sensei, let me talk to Lloyd about this, he might understand better if it comes from me," said Kai, who knew how heartbreak felt and would be able to convey that message to Lloyd.
"I'll stay with Zane, you talk to Lloyd," said Cole, Kai nodded and left. His first goal was to find Nya. After he quickly explained what was going on and that she had to explain to Pixal that what she did wasn't the correct way to handle the situation, Kai went to find Lloyd.
"Oh, Hey Kai, did you figure out what was wrong with Zane?" asked Lloyd
"I did, Lloyd did it ever occur to you that by dating Pixal you'd hurt Zane?" asked Kai
"Oh, I mean I kinda figured he wouldn't take it very well, but he seemed fine after Pix talked to him," said Lloyd
"Lloyd, you realize Zane bottles up his emotions if he thinks they will inconvenience any of us, and there's the fact that she broke his heart Lloyd, she cheated on him with you before she dumped him, he didn't tell you how he was feeling because he valued your happiness over his own well being, it might be our duty to protect you but that doesn't mean we don't also have the duty of helping each other and if Zane thinks that his feelings don't matter like the rest of us then that's a huge problem, Lloyd, think of everything Zane has ever done for us, how much he's given to us, and think of what he keeps losing, Lloyd you have your mom and uncle and even though your dad is evil you have him, the rest of us have at least one parent, but we are all Zane has, Pixal made him happy and he thought he made her happy, now he feels like he failed her and doesn't deserve to have love, to put it simply Lloyd, you stole the one person in this world who Zane trusted and loved more than anything else. He doesn't want to blame you or Pixal because well, he's Zane, if something goes wrong he blames himself and no one else, but this is absolutely your fault Lloyd, you should have never even considered the idea of dating Pix unless her and Zane had already broken up, now we have a brother who is emotionally destroyed and it's going to take a damn long time before he's ok, what you did to Zane was on par with what Harumi did to you, I know how horrible you felt after Harumi broke your heart, imagine how Zane feels after you stole the love of his life from him, " said Kai, Lloyd hung his head as Kai left. Meanwhile, Nya was talking to Pixal.
"Pix, listen to me, I warned you that dating Lloyd before you and Zane broke up was a very bad idea, you know Zane better than anyone, you were in his head for at least a year, and you know how he handles his emotions, unless there is someone he trusts explicitly, no one will know how he is feeling if his feelings would get in the way of our happiness, today was those emotions over the past six months leaking out. He may not have acted hurt by what you did, but he was, I thought you'd realize that," said Nya
"Will apologizing for help?" asked Pixal
"No Pix, it is too late for that, now I have a question, why did you do this, Zane loved you and probably still does, from what I saw he was the absolute perfect boyfriend, What made you want to give all that up for a boy who you had barely ever had a real conversation with?" asked Nya
"I felt merely compatible with Zane, but I felt genuine love for Lloyd, I admit I was foolish but Lloyd needed me, I thought Zane would understand," said Pixal
"Pix, Zane might never truly get over this, just because you develop feelings for someone else doesn't mean you don't take your current relationship into account, especially if the person you are with already is giving everything they are to you," said Nya. She left Pixal to think about these words and went to go find her brother, as it turned out all the ninja, minus Lloyd and Pixal, were in Zane's room trying to make their brother understand that he wasn't alone, that he had them. Zane was currently in Kai's arms, it felt good to finally get this off his chest, to feel loved again.
"Zane listen to me, please stop doing these kinds of things to yourself, we don't want to lose you and we want to be there for you, but you can't shut us out, because it hurts us more when we learn that you've been hurting and we weren't able to help, we love you brother, please start trusting us and letting us take care of you," said Kai, he held Zane close
"Guys, the idiot explorer Clutch Powers just unleashed a serpentine witch, she's on her way here," said Lloyd, poking his head in.
"Here's an Idea Mr. Mighty green ninja, go deal with it yourself, you're the prophesied one if you think that means you get everything you want then go earn it!" said Cole, getting up and slamming the door in Lloyd's face. Lloyd hung his head, he knew they'd be mad at him, he knew he screwed up. He saw the look on Zane's face, tear-streaked and tired like he didn't want to go on anymore. There was nothing Lloyd could do to fix this, Misako came down the hall and saw Lloyd standing in front of the door.
"I think I just lost my friends," said Lloyd
"They are angry yes, but I doubt this is the end of your brotherhood," said Misako
"But I made a massive mistake that nothing can fix, this is probably why Zane didn't tell anyone how he felt, he's the one who holds the team together, if he falls apart the team falls apart, he didn't want to risk our friendships, and now, well, I have to go fight snakes alone, said Lloyd
"Everyone makes big mistakes son, eventually they will forgive you, but Zane has to find someone to love first," said Misako
"Well now we have to prepare for a fight," said Lloyd. Pixal came into view and Lloyd ran to her, needing her comfort and love. As he held her, trying to prepare himself to fight, he couldn't help but think,
'I took this from Zane, all this love and comfort, I stole love from my brother,'
"I will fight with you Lloyd, you won't be alone," said Pixal. It was a close battle but Lloyd and Pixal managed to beat the hoards of snakes. Lloyd had to resort to using the ice part of his powers. He stared at the glowing blue cold in his hand, the element of the brother he hurt. Aspheera was locked away in the maximum-security part of Kryptarium and the scroll of forbidden spinjitzu had been broken by Pixal. They went back inside, the monastery was way too quiet for Lloyd's liking.
"Oh, right, everyone is with Zane," said Lloyd sadly. Pixal set a comforting hand on his shoulder but he shrugged her off and went to his room. He could bear for her to comfort him, it would be yet another painful reminder of how much he had stolen from the brother who always gave him everything. He lay on his bed looking at the ceiling, if he listened carefully he swore he could hear the voices of the others comforting Zane.
"How am I going to fix this?" Lloyd wondered aloud
"You can't," the voice in his head replied, his conscience. Lloyd sighed and closed his eyes, the team would never be the same again, he knew they'd pick Zane over him any day.
"Maybe without Zane, there is no team!" Kai's exclamation from years ago when Lloyd had suggested replacing Zane on the team. Lloyd should have known they'd never agree to replace their brother, the brother who had given his life for the world and for them. There was a knock on Lloyd's door.
"Come in," sighed Lloyd. Jay walked in.
"I just want you to answer one question for me Lloyd," said Jay, his voice calm but Lloyd heard the condescending edge to it, an edge that Jay's voice never had. Jay hardly ever got angry, but Lloyd could see a crackling anger in Jay's eyes, all light of laughter and humor gone from their brother in blue.
"Yes?" said Lloyd
"Why? Why in the world did you ever even consider dating Pixal when you knew perfectly well that Zane was dating her? I get that you thought we were dead, but really Lloyd? In the middle of fighting for the world you decide to get into a relationship with a girl who A) is in a happy relationship B) If We were dead she would have been grieving the loss of asaid boyfriend, and C) Had more important things to focus on than getting into a relationship with the high and mighty green ninja," said Jay, his voice rising in volume to the point where he was very close to shouting. Lloyd stared at his shoes,
"I-I'm sorry," said Lloyd
"You will be if you don't answer my question," snarled Jay, it was so uncharacteristic and Kai-like for the blue ninja that Lloyd scooted back on the bed in fear of what the blue ninja's unseen rage could do.
"I don't know, ok! I admit it was stupid and I never should have done it, I wasn't thinking, she was there for me when I thought you all were dead, it just sorta happened! I didn't intentionally do it to hurt Zane," said Lloyd. Jay had sparks in his hands and looked ready and willing to blast Lloyd through the wall, but instead, he sighed and walked out the door, Lloyd could still feel the lingering charge in the air, his hair was standing on end and he just noticed the bulb in his lamp had literally blown up. Lloyd sighed, today was not turning out good at all, not if Jay was acting just like Kai did when angry.
"Please let today just be a nightmare and when I wake up Zane will be cooking breakfast smiling and laughing with the others, please," pleaded Lloyd to the empty room. He rolled over, not realizing how close to the edge of the bed he was. He fell off the bed with a thud.
"Ouch," he said. Nope, not a dream. He left his room and walked down the hall, Zane's door was open a crack, he peaked in and saw all the other ninja holding Zane tightly, whispering words of comfort to their broken brother. Cole saw Lloyd and got up, closing the door the rest of the way. It would be a long time before any of them even thought about forgiving Lloyd.