"I think it's safe to come out!" Jay lifts the sewer grate.
With the overlord defeated the streets became eerily silent after the explosion. The ninjas helped each other out from safety. They were checking for civilians around them once they all got out. But Cole was focused on one thing. Where had the Ice ninja gone?
While the others checked to see if everyone was okay, Cole paced around frantically, looking for his friend. He needed to know he was okay. He needed to know he was safe. He needed to see if he was alive.
Lifting some metal from the explosion Cole had dug up part of the ice ninjas face. He began to panic.
"Guys, he's, he's dead, isn't he?"
The group quickly came over to Cole. Eyes widening at broken-off robotic face plate in Cole's hands.
"Zane's body has to be around here somewhere. Let's all look quickly!" Lloyd commanded.
Cole stayed frozen still, the gears visibly turning in his head. He tried to wrap his head around the possibility of the Ice ninja being gone.
Kai came over placing his hand on Cole's shoulder, snapping him out of his grim trance.
"I'm sure he's alright, Cole. We have to find him." Kai squeezes his shoulder.
Cole nods, holding the face plate with an abnormally tight grip and walking with the fire ninja towards another pile of rubble. He ran his thumb back and forth over the cracked cheek of the nindroids face. He hurt. He hurt so bad that there was almost no room for hope. But he continued to search, with what hope was left in him. That his brother and friend was still alive, but it wasn't long before others in the group began to shout once again.
"Zane, Oh my god, please get up buddy!" Jay could be heard yelling from a different direction on the street.
"Is he conscious?" Sensei Wu comes close to Zane's face analyzing him.
Jay goes to press his ear up to Zane's chest. He was listening for the inner workings of the robot's main frame. The hairs stood up on Cole's neck as he watched in anticipation. Cole wanted to sob. He wanted to reach out and shake Zane's shoulders. He wanted to scream.
If Zane was broken, that meant he could be fixed, right? But truly none of the ninjas knew, and Zane's father had long passed. Sure, Jay was pretty handy when building things and repairing electronics. But surely it was different when it came to working on a robot, and not just any robot but Zane. Their friend and brother. Not a machine but almost a human just like them. He was equal.
"Theirs a buzzing sound coming from his chest, but he's beaten up pretty bad it's not consistent; I'll need to work on him for a few days." Jay's eyes looked glossed over. But you could see the relief in his face, and so did everyone else's.
"I'll go get the bounty. Let's get him into the Med Bay as fast as possible." Nya runs from the group, happy but still worried for her friend. Jay still kneeled with Zane in his arms. Inspecting him repetitively, making sure he caught every detail damage. And Cole couldn't move. He stood staring at the two. While the others had long gone with Nya to fetch the bounty.
"He's going to be okay, Cole. I'll make sure he's up and running by the end of the month." Jay gave a weary smile. Knowing how much the earth ninja cares for Zane.
Not that they all didn't care but Jay had always known something was different between those two.
"I just wish, it didn't have to come to this."
Cole wanted to reach down and touch Zane. But he stopped himself, and he didn't want it to become real in his mind yet.
"Zane was a true Ninja today, sacrificing himself for the fate of Ninjago." Jay looked back down at Zane.
"Ninja never quit, right Jay." Cole's voice cracked as he said it. The words were a little bitter and sour in his mouth.
"Ninja never quit," Jay said, a small smile displayed on his face.
The bounty arrived shortly after, and Cole helped Jay bring Zane into the ship.
Bringing him straight to the med bay,And hoping for the best. He's going to wake up. No, he will wake up.
——2 weeks——
Zane still hadn't woken up since the explosion. But Jay insisted that Zane was alive and that his systems had to reboot. The new parts Jay had put Into the nindroids body were still getting acclimated to his body. While the weeks passed on the crew would come and visit while Zane seemed to lay lifeless.
Kai would tell Zane about the new lessons Sensai Wu would teach them. And how he had kicked Jays butt four times when they sparred.
Jay time to time, would come and read Zane his favorite books. He said it might help his comatose state brain jump back to life.
Lloyd would talk to him about the new comics he got and the newest episodes of cartoons he knew Zane could care less about.
And Nya would tell him how Pixel was doing and how she was helping Mr. Borg rebuild Ninjago city.
But Cole, Cole would sit in Zane's presence. He wanted to talk, needed to even. So many thoughts ran through his brain the last two weeks. Why did you do that? How could you do that? What was going through your head? How could you leave us? How dare you leave me?
He never said any of these things, though. He let the questions rattle around in his head until it drove him crazy.
Cole had an itch, an itch that didn't exist physically. But a thought, some words and even sentences. Lyrics that he wanted to sing too, Zane.
Shout even.
The number of words he wanted to speak to Zane drove him mad. So finally he talked.
"I know you're alive in there,everyone's worried about you." Cole tried to keep his voice steady. He brought the chair he was sitting in closer to Zane's bed.
"I'm worried about you, and I'm terrified, you know?"
"I thought, I thought you were gone for good this time." Cole reached out, curling his pinky finger around Zane's artificial one.
"Why did you do that?"
"You didn't have to sacrifice yourself we could've found a different way to defeat the Overlord." He sighed
"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy we won, but at what cost."
"You got hurt, badly this time."
He looked at Zane's body for a long time. Wanting the Robot to jump up with life.
"I'm afraid that, you'd do it again."
"That sense it worked this time with no repercussions, you'd do it again." Cole's voice was wavering now. He paused to clear his throat.
"You mean so much to this team, Zane, so much to me."
"You think you're replaceable, but you're the most precious thing in Ninjago."
"Your life, human or not, means something."
"You're not replaceable, and I won't let you become replaceable." Cole was shaking now. The tears had yet to fall from his eyes.
But he could feel the hot liquid pushing at the backs of his eyes.
The bed started to shift.
Cole whipped his head up quickly. Zane was stirring around like he had been casually sleeping, like he was waking up from an afternoon nap. Cole's heart felt like it would combust within him. The tears raced down his cheeks.
"Zane?" He spoke in a soft voice.
Cole felt like he had imagined it.
Zane's eyes slowly blinked open, revealing his beautiful icy ones. He turned his head, glancing over Cole's face, analyzing him. He smiled, squeezing Cole's pinky in his.
"Were you crying?" Zane's voice is weak, but he sounded conscious enough.
Cole rests his hand on Zane's cheek. He was drinking in the fact that he was up and alive looking at him now.
"I was crying because of you, you fucking idiot." Cole laughs, but the tears run down faster.
"If you ever try and pull some shit like that again, I'll kill you." Cole placed his face in Zane's chest, ignoring the waterfall coming out of his eyes.
"You wouldn't do that." Zane huffed humorously. He takes his hand out from under Cole and places it in Cole's black locks. Playing with his hair slowly with the strength he could manage.
Cole's heart began to speed up. He leaned into Zane's touch. Zane was alive, and he wanted to scream. Zane was alive and he wanted to tell the whole world. But more importantly Zane was alive and he had the urge to kiss him, and that scared him.
"I would, I'd kill you before you could think of sacrificing yourself again." Cole pushed his face farther into Zane's chest. Wanting to hear the wiring moving and working within him. He wanted to hear his artificial heart.
"Don't ever try and sacrifice yourself again, you're not replaceable I don't care if you're a robot." Cole lifted up his head. Wiping the tears from his cheeks.
"You're to important to me to make decisions like that, if you're gonna sacrifice yourself at least tell us first asshole." Cole jabbed his chin into Zane's chest, causing him to let out a pained huff.
"I'm deeply sorry, Cole. I did what was best after a short assignment at the time."
"I did not think it would affect you all as much as it did, and I gravely apologize."
Zane takes his hands out of Cole's hair, pulling Cole's chin up so he could look at him.
"Shut it, frosty. I'm not done being mad at you." Cole tries to pull his head out of Zane's grasp, but the nindroid holds him firmly.
"I wasn't afraid to die at that moment, but now that I am here in front of you."
"I could not have imagined the grief I would have put you through, Cole."
He rubs his thumb across Cole's puffy cheeks.
"I've come to realize that, I like you."
"Before the overlords take over, I liked you, but me being a robot I thought."
"Cole would never reciprocate, we are not compatible."
"So I didn't mind leaving this world, you all could get a new team mate. As long as all of Ninjago was safe."
"Which was wrong of me to think."
He pauses.
"But, when I analyze you now."
Zane stopped to pause scanning over Cole's face. Cole had already turned two different shades of pink.
"I see that you might feel the same?"
Cole couldn't think, he had to be dreaming. He probably had fallen asleep on the chair and would wake up any minute now, to look over and see that Zane had yet to wake up. But Zane was definitely in front of him. He was looking Cole dead in the eyes with a look of love. He never thought he would see a look like that from the ice ninja.
"Can I kiss you?" Cole lifts himself off of Zane's chest. Hovering over him now, he looks down at the nindroids lips.
"I have never kissed before, Cole, but I would not mind if you decided to do so."
Zane's eyes lit up, literally. Zane moved his hands to bring Cole down closer to him once again. But this time, Closer to his face.
Cole hovered over his mouth for a moment. He couldn't believe what was happening. Looking down at the ice ninja, he closed his eyes, placing a sweet kiss on his lips. Zane smelt like a pine forest in the middle of winter. And Cole loved it, he felt like he was drowning.
Cole pulled off him, lips hovering an inch from Zane's own.
"Please." The smallest sound came from
Zane's mouth. To the point where Cole felt like he imagined Zane asking for more, but Zane then pulled on the sleeve of Coles shirt. Making the corner of Coles lips up turn into a smirk. He kissed Zane once more and again and again and again until he couldn't breathe.
Pulling away I looking into Zane's eyes with love, he had to pull away from him.
He didn't want to hurt the healing ninja.
"As much as I love this, we should probably tell the others you're awake."
Cole moved off of him. He was fixing the blankets that lay on the ice ninja.
"I'll be right back, okay." Cole went to kiss Zane once more, this time on the cheek. The nindroid's cheeks turned blue from the surprise attack.
"I'll shall wait." Zane smiled.
And Cole raced out of the room, his heart beating faster than usual. But he was esthetic.
He would never let go of Zane again.
End
