*Author's note: Happy MLK day guys!... And that's all I have to say XD Enjoy!*
He was not happy when he woke up that morning. He wanted to keep sleeping, existing in a world that did not contain such problematic subjects such as crushing on a best friend that was going through depression.
Crushing… How could he not have noticed?
Yes, Cole had always suspected that he was attracted to both genders. He always found himself admiring good-looking people. But to have this attraction sneak up behind him and cause it to manifest in his best friend? This was cruelty beyond words.
He couldn't resist his feelings though. He enjoyed every smile Zane had, every moment where he trusted Cole to take care of him; Cole couldn't help himself for falling for Zane. He felt it was wrong to become wrapped up in the depressed man, when the last thing Zane needed was more turmoil and complications in his life.
"I'll just ignore it," Cole thought to himself, nodding as he stared up at the ceiling from the top bunk, "I'll say it's a stomach ache."
"Good morning Cole." A voice said from below. A voice he never realized affected him so much, until now.
His stomach flipped, a pink tinge seeping into his cheeks.
"Good morning Zane." He said to the ceiling.
"Are you feeling better?" The ninja asked, referencing the night before. After Cole had ran off to the bathroom in the middle of dinner, Zane had tried to help Cole. However, Cole said he had a stomach bug, and dismissed Zane's help.
Zane was not fooled however. He could tell Cole was not in the grasp of a virus. This became plainly evident when Cole then proceeded to make painfully fake gagging noises from behind the bathroom door, trying to convince Zane of his ill state.
Cole was a horrible liar. And when he took a pass on the chance to have dessert (something he would never do, even if he WAS actually sick), Zane knew something was very wrong with his leader.
"I'm fine. How are you feeling, Tin Can?" Cole asked Zane, as he sat up in bed.
"I have felt better in the past." Zane admitted calmly. As Zane lay there, he noticed that his head hurt a little. Being an artificial being did not include having headaches. Whenever Zane had such a pain, he knew something was wrong with his mechanics. If only he still had his father around to fix him.
The white-haired ninja sighed and got out of bed, the other's eyes following him as he made his way to the dresser.
Zane pulled out a random pair of pants and a random shirt. Normally, Zane was adamant about compiling together a good, matching outfit. He did not feel the motivation to do so now
He took off his grey pajama shirt, and let it fall to the ground.
A sudden screeching sound, much akin to the sound of a prehistoric raptor, came from the top bunk of their bed. Zane turned around in confusion, not aware that his brother was an extinct reptile, to find him curled up in a ball, looking at the wall instead of Zane.
"Are you okay?" Zane asked, a slightly amused smile present on his face.
"Warn me next time before you decide to strip!" Cole yelled over the loud, pumping blood in his ears. His face was the hottest it had ever been, his mind playing over and over the scene he had just witnessed. Zane slowly taking off his shirt, his lean muscles and build moving with grace as he dropped his shirt to the ground… Cole shook his head, trying to remind himself he was supposed to be ignoring his feelings. But Zane was making it so difficult…
"You never seemed to have a problem with it before. We've known each other for over five years," Zane said, turning back to his outfit and taking of the rest of his clothes before putting his fresh clothes on, "But I am sorry for making you feel uncomfortable."
Cole was still blushing as he came out of his curled up position.
"It's probably just my stomach, making me irritable or something." Cole said, laughing nervously. Zane rolled his eyes to himself, hearing the evident lie in his leader's voice. He didn't possess enough energy to question Cole about what was really bothering him, however.
"I'm going to go eat breakfast," Zane announced, "Will you be joining me?"
"Yeah, just give me a couple of minutes." Cole said, descending down the bunk ladder. Zane nodded, and walked out of the room, heading downstairs while clad in an orange shirt (put on backwards) and dark violet sweatpants. An odd combination, especially for the normally well-dressed ninja.
Cole grabbed a comfortable pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, and carried them into the bathroom with him for a couple minutes of privacy.
"You have to control yourself, Cole." Cole muttered to himself, as he put on deoderant and the clean clothes. He was already failing at his task in ignoring his feelings. There was no doubt Zane suspected something was wrong, knowing he was a smart nindroid. But it was so hard to turn a blind eye…
"Stay strong. You can do this. Zane needs you." Cole said to himself, staring himself in the eyes as he combed his hair. He would not accept failure. He had to succeed. His best friend/crush needed him.
After feeling satisfied with his pep talk with himself, Cole continued on downstairs, feeling brave and confident.
Zane, in the time Cole had been building himself confidence, had cooked pancakes for the two of them. As much as Zane respected and loved his brother, Cole's cooking could may possibly inflict death onto himself. Zane therefore made pancakes for Cole too, so as to save his friend from such a fate.
"Oh, thanks Pinky!" Cole exclaimed, sitting down and diving into the stack of pancakes on his plate. Zane nodded silently, as he ate the small bites he had cut for himself.
It seemed as though Zane was having an off day. Cole had yet to see the ninja smile.
There was a couple moments of odd silence, before Cole decided to try and strike up a conversation.
"So, how did you sleep?" Cole asked Zane. He continued to eat, waiting for the man's answer. However, it seemed as though he would not receive an answer. A couple of minutes had gone by, and Zane kept eating, as if he hadn't heard Cole.
"Zane?" Cole asked again, begging to feel worried, looking at him with concern.
For a couple of seconds, nothing happened. Cole was about to say his name again, when the ninja suddenly froze.
"Za-" Cole began.
Zane's fork clattered to the ground, and his body slumped as if he had suddenly lost control of his body; as if he were shutting down.
Cole yelled in surprise, as Zane's chair began to tip backward from the weight of the slumped man. He jumped out of his chair, and caught Zane before he could hit the floor.
"Zane? Zane?!" Cole yelled, his heart racing in reaction to Zane's cold, dead stare. the icy blue in his eyes had disappeared, his eyes now a faint, dead grey. It was as if he had lost all power.
"Garmadon! Misako! Anyone!" Cole cried out, grabbing hold of Zane with a powerful fear. Misako and Garmadon came running down the steps, still clad in their pajamas, with fright in their eyes. Cole could hear the pitter-patter of feet in the ceiling and other sections of the monastery, indicating the monks had also heard his plea for help.
Garmadon took one look into the dead eyes of Zane Julien, and immediately knew something was very wrong.
"Mi-Misako, call Wu!" Garmadon shouted, quickly kneeling down next to Cole and the lifeless nindroid. Misako didn't need to be told twice as she dashed back up the stairs to retrieve her cell phone.
Cole's eyesight was beginning to blur, as he stared into the grey eyes. Zane looked… Gone. It looked too much like his ninja of ice was dead; too much for Cole to handle. Garmadon, noticing Cole's distress, quickly tried to comfort him.
"Cole… Cole, everything will be okay. Let's get him out of the chair, oka- Cole, stay with me bud, Zane needs you. Misako is calling your Sensei right now. Zane will be okay. Help me out of his chair." Garmadon said, trying to calm the leader, who had tears streaming down his cheeks as he hyperventilated.
Cole nodded through his tears and helped Garmadon as best he could, the ninja of strength and earth suddenly having weak and trembling hands.
Zane did not react to the moving. His head lolled every which way they moved him. His movements were loose. Too loose. As if he were some kind of rag doll.
Misako came dashing down the stairs, phone in hand, as three monks ran into the dining room.
"Cole, Sensei Wu would like to speak to you." Misako said, handing the distraught man the phone. Cole took it hastily, staying at Zane's side as Garmadon explained what he needed the monks to do.
"Cole, I have Cyrus Borg ready for departure on one of Jay's jets. Is there anything more I can do to help? Anything I can send your way with Mr. Borg?" Sensei Wu asked, sounding the most serious he had ever sounded.
"Jay," Cole ordered, "We need Jay. Tell him to bring all the blueprints and all the personal artifacts he has of Doctor Julien and his work. Bring anything he thinks he'll need to use."
"Jay is packing his things right now," Sensei confirmed, "Hang in there. They'll be there in twenty minutes."
Cole thanked his Sensei, and gave him back to Misako, who then began to describe what happened. Cole jumped off the ground as the monks and Garmadon picked up the rag-doll ninja off the ground, and began to carry him up the stairs to his bed. Cole followed on their heels, not wanting to part from his teammate's side for even a second.
"Come on, Zane. Don't go dying on us…" Cole muttered, sitting down on the bed where the ninja was lying. Cole ran his hand through Zane's white hair, wondering if this morning was to be the last time he saw life in the nindroid's eyes.
Please hurry, Jay. Please.
Twenty minutes, normally a short amount of time, felt like forever at the moment. Cole could not sit still, pacing back and forth, taking a glance at the dead eyes of Zane every now and then. He couldn't stand looking at his dead friend for much longer, and was about to try and fix him on his own, when Cyrus Borg came wheeling in, Jay following right behind him.
Jay choked back a cry of fear, as his eyes fell onto his lifeless teammate.
"Oh my god…" Cyrus whispered, "Quick, pull out all of Zane's blueprints that you have, set them around us."
Jay nodded quickly, following the inventor's instructions.
"We'll go into depth with healing Zane later. Right now, we have to focus on emergency protocol. Getting Zane a sustaining power source to live on as we figure out what's wrong. Cole, help Jay locate an emergency power port. All inventors should install one, in case the main power source stops functioning." Mr. Borg ordered. Cole nodded hastily, and dove to the ground, joining Jay as the two frantically searched through Zane's blueprints. While they were doing this, Cyrus pulled a long wire out of the duffel bag that held all the blueprints and notes of Dr. Julien. He wheeled over to the nearest outlet, inserting the plug into it.
"I found it!" Jay exclaimed, grabbing one of the many blueprints, quickly scrambling off the ground to show Borg, "Right there! In the side of his neck!"
"Good job!" Mr. Borg replied, hastily wheeling over to Zane while holding the other end of the extension cord. Cole and Jay hovered over the inventor as he carefully opened a small hatch in the nindroid's neck. The hatch revealed behind it several small, rectangular holes, like places to put USBs.
"It's the blue one," Jay instructed, "It leads straight to the core power source."
Mr. Borg nodded, and carefully inserted the emergency power wire into the rectangular slot outlined in blue. They all held their breath, as they waited to see if they had been too late to save Zane. Jay looked over at his leader, who seemed to be visibly shaking in anxiety.
The silence was unbearable. Cole could barely stand the suspense. His mind was already steeling itself up for the ultimate bad news Cole could ever hear.
There was a sudden, quiet whirring sound, indicating power was back on. All three of them sighed, as the icy blue color returned to the grey eyes.
"Zane." Cole sighed in relief, his heart still beating fast from the suspense, and from the joy of Zane coming back to those of the living.
Zane opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out. The man closed his mouth and frowned.
"The power from the outlet won't be enough to make you fully operational," Cyrus explained, "So things such as talking and walking around are not activities you can do. Until we figure out how to fix your main power source, or how it works for that matter, it will have to be like this."
Zane nodded, understanding the situation, and looked up at the bed above his. He couldn't move his head much, due to the wire sticking out of his neck. Cole grimaced, feeling bad for his ninja of ice, who was living on an insufficient power source that made him uncomfortable. Zane had gone through so much lately… It seemed as though the guy couldn't catch a break.
"Let's let Zane rest, and explain to the Garmadons and the monkeys about what's going on." Jay suggested.
"It's 'monks', Jay," Cole corrected, "And I'm going to stay up here with Zane. I don't want to leave him alone."
Jay and Cyrus nodded, leaving Cole alone with Zane.
The white haired boy stared up into the green orbs. In any other situation, Cole would be horribly blushing, both of them staring into the other's eyes as they were positioned on a conveniently comfortable bed. But for now, that was put on the back burner. Zane needed Cole's support now more than ever.
"Let's get some shut eye, Tin Can. Rest is the best possible thing for you right now." He said, laying down next to his teammate, pulling up the blankets to cover the both of them.
Cole leaned over and gave Zane a soft kiss on the forehead, before lying back down and cuddling the ninja, encouraging him to go to sleep.
The kiss was just a harmless gesture, of course. Just a comforting, reassuring gesture, indicating that everything was going to be okay. He was still ignoring his feelings. Right? No harm done.
Zane could not blush, due to the significant lower amount of energy he could use in his system. however, he was definitely feeling a sensation of floating happiness. The only thing he could think in his short-circuited mind was one word, and one word only, that kept repeating over and over:
Cole.
The Cursed Realm was not a place of which Morro wanted to spend the rest of eternity in. He could be out there, proving his worth to the land of Ninjago. Proving that his Sensei was wrong. That he could be the all-powerful green ninja, no matter what destiny wanted to tell him, no matter what Wu said otherwise.
As of right now, it was lunch time in the damned Cursed Realm. Spirit sandwiches with moldy cheese and liquid brown lettuce.
What Morro would do to eat some real food again. He missed Ninjago with all of his heart.
As the teen sat down at his normal lunch table, he found that there was someone already sitting there. A dark purple figure, shrouded by some sort of darkness that Morro could not see around. He was obviously new to the realm of the damned.
"Hi," Morro mumbled, in the least enthusiastic tone imaginable, "Welcome to the Cursed Realm. So glad you could join us."
"I don't care for that sarcastic tone, mortal." The creature growled, most likely glaring at the boy with the green streak in his hair. Morro couldn't tell however, due to the fact the creature was only a large blob of purple darkness with no telling if it actually possessed any peepers. Morro settled for glaring at the general area of which he assumed this creature's eyes would be.
"Someone's angry." Morro snorted, taking a bite of his spirit sandwich. The creature growled again.
"Well of course I'm angry, child. My plans were just defeated by a group of teenage ninja boys! And I was so close to taking over Ninjago too. I feel so ashamed to even be given such a cool name as the Overlord." The creature said.
Morro's interest perked up at the words "ninja", "Ninjago", and "Overlord". Sensei had always told stories about the ancient evil name the Overlord. Apparently it had been defeated, and rightfully so. However, the group of ninja? Morro had a bad feeling about this. One that sunk deep into the depths of his gut.
"A group of ninja you say? Did one of them happen to wearing… Green?" Morro asked, setting down the god-awful sandwich on his plate, wanting to hear the response.
"Yes!" The Overlord boomed, "That's the one that destroyed me!"
An intense feeling of sickness entered Morro's stomach, as the worst of news hit.
"No! NO, I was supposed to be the green ninja! Not someone else! NO!" Morro's mind screamed. This cry of agony kept rolling over and over, getting louder and louder, until Morro was screaming it at the top of his lungs. The guards quickly took hold of Morro, and dragged the screaming, kicking teen back to his cell/room.
However, the guards did not help any of the loud sounds coming from the teen. In fact, they were so loud that a certain, wise old Sensei could hear them in meditation, many realms away. The old man's eyes shot open, as he heard the voice of someone he had known to be dead for quite some time.
"I'll kill the green ninja, and that fool of a Sensei for EVER thinking he could fool me!"