Jeb Garmadon was there. He was there, and he was alive, and he was smiling at Zane like Zane was the best thing he'd ever seen.
It had been two years since Jeb Garmadon had disappeared, two whole years, but Zane remembered him as clearly as if it had been two hours. Zane remembered Jeb tying Kai's shoes, playing video games with Jay, showing Nya how to make popcorn, setting an extra slice of cake down in front of Cole, ruffling Lloyd's hair. Zane remembered Jeb Garmadon settling on the couch and teaching Zane how to read. The older birdkids had told Zane what Jeb had done for all of them, how he had betrayed the School to rescue them and get them to freedom. They had also told Zane that Jeb had vanished without a warning or a note or any way of explanation and that he had to be dead. Zane had cried off and on for weeks after Jeb disappeared, and he hadn't been the only one. They'd all missed Jeb Garmadon more than they could put into words.
But now he was there. He was there, and that meant everything was going to be okay.
...Or did it?
Something was wrong here, multiple somethings, even.
First, Jeb Garmadon was alive. They had all thought he was dead. How had he survived? Where had he been? Why hadn't he come back to them?
Second, when Zane's mind reached out to Jeb's automatically, instinctively, looking for thoughts and answers, no thoughts or answers were to be found. Jeb's mind was empty, void, null. Zane couldn't get even a hint of a thought from him. That had never happened before, not with Jeb, not with anyone.
Third… Zane's breath hitched in his chest as he looked at the man in front of him. Third, Jeb Garmadon was wearing a white coat, a lab coat, a scientist's coat. He looked just like any of the other whitecoats who had tormented Zane over the past however many days he'd been back at the School.
The details all added up to form a horrible picture. Jeb Garmadon had never died. He had just gone back to the School. Had taking them from the School even been a betrayal? Maybe it had all just been another part of the School's awful plan for the birdkids.
Zane blinked back tears and leaned back, away from Jeb.
Jeb Garmadon kept smiling. He knelt in front of the open door to Zane's crate and pulled something out from behind him. It was a tray, filled with plates heaping with food. There were noodles and creamy biscuits and even a slice of myrtleberry pie. Zane's stomach made a loud growling noise, but Zane wouldn't give in. He closed his eyes and turned his face away.
Jeb Garmadon sighed. "I would've thought you would be hungry. They told me how much they were feeding you, and even for a regular kid, it wouldn't have been enough. For a birdkid like you, with your fast processing of food? I'm surprised you haven't collapsed."
Zane didn't move, eyes still squeezed shut.
"I suppose that's a lesson to me," Jeb remarked. "If you disappear from a child's life, then that child may not accept your serving of creamy biscuits."
Jeb was quiet for a few moments then, and Zane peeked out at him to confirm he was still there. He was, and he caught Zane's gaze.
"You can't tell me you don't want this," Jeb Garmadon stated. "You just don't want to take it from me. Right?"
Zane wouldn't blink, wouldn't even breathe, just to show how upset he was. He was good at the silent treatment. Jay and Kai had told him as much multiple times.
Jeb sighed again. "Well, it's for you, and it'd be a good idea for you to take it. I want you to stay healthy and happy as much as possible."
"Happy," Zane repeated skeptically, then he spread his arms as much as he could in the crate and raised his eyebrows.
"I suppose I deserve that skepticism," Jeb remarked ruefully. "You don't have much of a reason to trust me right now. But you will. There's so much you need to know, so much you have to learn, so much I can teach you."
Zabe huffed a laugh. Right, because Zane wanted to learn from a whitecoat.
Jeb Garmadon scooted the tray of food a little closer. "I want you to eat this. Fill up your stomach, finish it all off, and I'll get you more."
Looking down at the tray, Zane hesitated. Could it be that easy? Could he really just eat it? No, it couldn't be that easy. If he ate, there would be consequences. Zane had no idea what those consequences might be, but they would exist.
Zane turned up his nose and looked away.
"It's here for you, Zane. And I'm here for you too. Things might not make sense right now, but they will soon. I promise," Jeb stated.
Like Zane would believe any promise from a whitecoat. Zane turned around fully in the crate so that his back was facing Jeb.
Jeb Garmadon sighed one more time. "Just give me a chance."
"You had a chance," Zane said quietly. "And you gave it up to go back to the School."