Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time! The reviews came so fast! I was a bit shocked. I wondered if people would lose interest because I hadn't posted in so long. Syren Nolbuluuki, Isabella camovic, LucariosFish, FireCloud3, EchoJulien, Guest, Bookkeeper2004, LucyBrick123, Dr. Fluffmuffin, Piggon, and Guest, thank you ALL so much for your support!
Isabella camovic: I'm so glad you liked Echo and PIXAL's interaction! I loved writing it. :) Ah! Echo will have plenty of talks about feelings in many coming chapters. I'm really excited for it! (Since I'm talking, I noticed you sent some of the same requests to the author of 'Empty Echoes', Toni42. It's no problem, I'd just like to know if you're asking multiple people to write something, since I don't want to write the same thing as somebody else. I'd also like it if, for each request you made, you shared your thoughts on chapters first.) Thanks so much for your review! Here's part 3! :D
FireCloud3: Your review means so much to me! I'm so glad you liked Echo's confusion, because I loved it! XD Thanks so much! I hope to post really soon!
JBomb12: I'm so glad you liked it! :D Thanks for reviewing!
Guest: Don't worry, I never uproot canon ships! ZaneXPIXAL is safe with me! Thanks for reviewing!
Guest: OMG! Thank you SO much! I'm so excited that you love this! Your praise is just... wow! Thank you so much!
Seventh chapter: What was supposed to be a routine visit to Borg Industries is interrupted by an attack in Ninjago City. Jay, Lloyd, Zane, and Echo are caught in the crossfire, and as they struggle to evacuate civilians, they are separated in the chaos. "Zane, I can't find him! He's not answering me!"
Continuation of 'Upgrades'...
Borg checked his watch, frowning at the time, and wheeled his chair over to the floor to ceiling window overlooking Ninjago City. Sunlight glinted off the glass of the many skyscrapers. Cars, silenced by distance, drove up and down the streets, smaller even than toys. Somewhere behind the maze of buildings, smoke dissipated into the blue sky.
"What is keeping them, I wonder?" Borg asked aloud. He backed up, then steered over to his desk, where several monitors waited to offer any information he asked of them - whether that be camera footage from the City or his tower, connection to internet, or Echo's vitals and heart rate during operations.
On the other side of the room was the equipment he had prepared for Echo's final upgrade. He would install a com-link with the Ninja, a tracking device, and - the most impressive installation - the programming needed for artificial sleep, which doubled as a system cool down. For the first time ever, Echo would be able to sleep as a human could.
The only problem preventing this was that Echo and the others still hadn't shown up. Though running late definitely wasn't unheard of when it came to the Ninja, their tardiness still proved inconvenient.
With the tap of a few buttons, Cyrus Borg turned on the monitor to check up on the news in Ninjago while he waited. Perhaps the Ninja had run into some trouble on the way over. The screen flicked on, and the picture swarmed with sirens, cops, helicopters, and a massive throng of people.
"Goodness gracious!" he exclaimed.
Earlier...
"Good morning, Ninjago!"
The others laughed as Echo shouted his greeting to the world and leaped to the next rooftop. Jay, Zane, and Lloyd jumped after him, clearing the gap between the buildings with ease. They all absorbed the shock of the landing, and took off running across the roof.
"You can really keep up!" Lloyd panted with a grin. Indeed, Echo was leading the pack, this particular part of town completely mapped out in his mind.
Echo had grown so much since his first visit to Ninjago City - both from visiting Borg and from watching the public - and neither the inventor nor the busy metropolis caused him anxiety anymore. In fact, the thought of a trip to Borg Industries now excited him.
Today would be Echo's final visit with Borg. He had undergone many repairs, and his voice no longer glitched. His outer plating was smooth, shiny, and as seamless as Zane's. His wall crawling abilities were enhanced, weapons and tools were hidden in his arms, he could now feel the pain of a hit, and the softness of a petal, and his clockwork heart had been replaced with a powerful core, pulsing with blue energy, and crafted in the shape of a clock to honor his past power source. It pleased him greatly. He felt stronger and healthier than ever, with a zest to learn and live life to the fullest.
To everyone's surprise, one thing Borg hadn't needed to upgrade was Echo's scanner. Dr. Julien had built in an incredibly strong, far-reaching range into it, perhaps to keep tabs on the Leviathan guarding the Lighthouse, but they would never know for sure.
Borg Tower poked up above the other buildings, the large C a beacon for Echo, though he already had the way memorized by heart. His smile widened as each step brought him closer. He and the others came to the edge of the roof and threw themselves into empty air. There was the familiar sensation of weightlessness, accompanied by the feeling your insides were being left behind, as they plummeted. Then seconds later, they landed on a lower rooftop with a thud, all of them rolling to absorb the impact.
Lloyd took the lead and vaulted off the roof, breaking his fall by grabbing a ledge, before letting himself fall to the sidewalk, his brothers right behind him. They took off down the street.
"Almost there!" Lloyd called back. They'd taken the long way so he could put in patrol time.
"Woo! I'm feelin' great!" Jay cheered. With no villains to fight, they'd all been getting enough rest for once, and racing across buildings to reach the center of the city felt like a breeze to their toned bodies.
"I will race you there!" Zane laughed. He put on a burst of speed, then summoned his elemental dragon.
Echo beamed, eyes sparkling, as he watched the brilliant blue and white creature soar upward.
"Hey!" Jay protested. His dark blue dragon materialised under him and he shot after Zane. "That's cheating!"
"You're doing it!" came the distant reply.
Lloyd laughed, watching them disappear as he ran. He looked at Echo. "Come on, let's catch up." He extended his hand to him. Echo's eyes shone, and reached to take it.
"Lloyd!"
Lloyd slowed to a halt, looking up as Jay, and then Zane, pulled up their dragons above them. Their wings pounded the air.
"What is it?" Lloyd called up.
"You should see this," Zane said. "There appears to be a disturbance up ahead."
"Uh, disturbance is putting it lightly, Zane," Jay spat.
Lloyd and Echo shared a look, joined hands, and Lloyd summoned his green Energy Dragon. They took off after Jay and Zane, the buildings passing in a blur. Echo clung to Lloyd's waist, curious and concerned about what lay ahead.
As the street rushed underneath them, the traffic became increasingly backed up, until it stopped entirely. Up ahead, flashing blue and red police lights lined an entire block. In between the cop's barricade was a massive swarm of shouting people.
"What is that?" Echo asked.
"A riot," Lloyd stated.
The ninja swooped over the traffic on their dragons, Lloyd warning them to watch for stray bullets. Echo looked at Lloyd, but their leader's focus was ahead. What was a bullet? What did it do?
The storm of noise pummeled them before they'd even landed. As they dismissed their dragons and their feet touched the ground behind a line of cop cars, the mob's screams, demands, curses, and the incessant crash and bang of thrown objects and fists drowned out all other noise. Echo's ears rang. For the first time in weeks, he felt his sensors overload. He covered his ears and tried to lower the volume. Screaming! Noise, noise, noise! Nothing came into focus until Zane rushed to his side and wrapped an arm around him.
"What happened?" Lloyd shouted to the nearest officer.
The officer turned away from the chaos on the other side of his car and noticed the ninja for the first time. "Protest gone wrong!" His voice barely made it over the commotion. "Political unrest! They're demanding to speak to the mayor!" He spotted Echo. "Who's he?"
Lloyd turned around and remembered Echo, pressed tightly into his older brother's side. "Zane! You should get Echo out of here!"
A gunshot went off.
All of them stiffened. Echo crouched, eyes wide. "What...?"
The Green Ninja turned back to the nindroids. "Don't risk taking to the air! Take a back way out, then radio the others!"
Zane nodded. He took off, watching over his shoulder to make sure Echo followed. The two of them ran through the throng of abandoned cars and ducked into an alley, where they scaled the side of the building to the rooftop.
Lloyd and Jay watched them run off before turning back to the cop, crouching next to him so they could talk over the riot.
"Do you want us to help?" Lloyd asked.
"There's someone trying to communicate with the instigator right now. I bet he's the guy with the gun. He came outta nowhere and turned things violent."
"Do you need us to get people out? What if I spoke with them?"
"We can handle this. There are folks inside that building who need you." He pointed to the municipal hall a ways down the road. "Everyone's angry with the government office. Make sure they're safe!"
"On it!" Jay saluted. He and Lloyd made brief eye contact before sprinting away. The officer swore he turned away for only half a second, but when he looked back, they'd vanished.
"How'd they do that?"
Zane and Echo knelt on the slanted tile roof of the public library. Zane had just finished talking to Cole, and the Earth Ninja was on his way and trying to get a hold of Kai and Nya.
Below, the mob had split into two separate groups. One hounded the police with slogans of protest, but didn't sling any blows, while the other marched in a tight circle, making their way toward City Hall, and throwing whatever they could at the blockade - whether it be words or stones. A man waving a handmade gun over his head lead them.
Echo watched in silence. He extended his sensors, picking out each individual in the crowd and sorting them. Being high on the roof, above the noise, allowed him to get his thoughts together, and he no longer felt overwhelmed. Still, he couldn't quite figure out what was happening. It was the first time he'd witnessed intentional violence directed by a person at another person. The mural at the Monastery seemed more real, all of a sudden.
He picked up a familiar signal. Lloyd and Jay's signature readings appeared on his screen, their physical bodies hidden from view. Their green and blue icons ducked behind the government hall across the street, and with an impressive series of flips and leaps, they swung up to the third story and slipped through an unlocked window.
"I read you, Lloyd," Zane said suddenly, fingers at the device in his ear. Echo switched his attention to him.
Zane listened to his leader through the com-link, then replied: "The mob split, and are heading toward the building. They're armed."
Lloyd answered, but Echo had no way of hearing what he said.
"I will keep an eye out in the mean time."
The Green Ninja seemed to end the conversation, because Zane took his hand away from his ear. He caught Echo's gaze and held it for a moment, before turning his attention back to the street.
Echo did likewise, steeling himself for the gravity of the situation.
After a minute, Echo felt Zane's gaze back on him, and he turned to meet his eyes.
"Are you alright?" his older brother asked.
Echo nodded.
"Perhaps you should go on ahead to Borg's while we finish this."
"I am fine," Echo assured. For some reason, he wanted to stay. Especially with Jay and Lloyd infiltrating a possibly dangerous situation. Zane may have audio contact, but Echo had visual tabs on the two. "I want to help."
Down below, one voice rose above the others. The gunman stepped up to the cops guarding the Hall's front doors, shouting at them with weapon raised. From behind their shields, the police shouted back their demands. To everyone's surprise, the man threw his gun at them. It clattered against the hall steps behind the cops. The shouting volume decreased, so Zane and Echo both heard the cops order, "Hands up!"
The man reached into his sweater and pulled out a parcel, raising it over his head. Yelling, the crowd - including the gunman's followers - scattered. Zane gasped.
He catapulted the parcel over the cops' heads. It soared toward the building and through a front window with a crash.
"Lloyd! Jay!" Zane shouted through the com-link.
The blue and green icons, each on a separate side of the building, stiffened.
The bomb exploded.
Everyone screamed. The officer's nearest to the building flung themselves to the ground. Flames billowed from the front of the building, throwing concrete and debris. Everyone kept screaming, and all the protestor's took off running. Some cops gathered their wits fast enough to jump the terrorist and pin him to the ground. Dark fire and smoke plumed behind them. Ashes rained down on the street.
Echo's eyes went so wide he thought they would pop out of their sockets. He frantically scanned City Hall. Green Icon, accompanied by a small crowd of orange icons, milled on the third floor and on the opposite side of the building from the blaze, while Blue Icon remained terrifyingly close to the fire, the heat almost snuffing him out.
"Lloyd! The building is ablaze! You must get everyone out!"
"You must get everyone out!"
Lloyd heard Zane as a distant voice, muffled by the yelps of the people around him. A tremor had just shaken the entire Hall. Lloyd stood braced as if for impact, eyes raking the walls, floor, and ceiling.
"Lloyd! Do you read me? The building is on fire!"
"What?!" The Green Ninja barely stopped himself from spreading the panic inciting news to the others in the room. The city council watched him with wide eyes. Before Zane could repeat himself, Lloyd said, "Yes, I read you. Where is it?"
After a pause, Zane replied, "Echo says you are far from the blaze, but Jay is in the immediate vicinity."
"I sent him to look for anyone else who might be in the building." A knot formed in his gut.
"Echo says you have everyone accounted for."
"He can scan that far?" Wow. "How fast is it spreading?"
"How fast is what spreading?" A man in the group squeaked.
"So far it appears contained, and the perpetrator has been apprehended. The fire department is on its way. Where is Jay? He should be able to hear us!"
Lloyd started, remembering that all three of them shared the link. "Jay?" he called.
No answer.
"Jay, I need help evacuating the building! Jay? Jay!"
"Zane I can't find him! He's not answering me!"
Zane felt a part of him stop working.
"What did he say?" Echo asked. Jay's icon still hadn't moved, and the fire grew increasingly heated as it embedded itself in the structure. Lloyd's had moved as the Green Ninja searched for his brother, but he still had two dozen people to look after, and had returned to them within minutes, reporting that a section of the building had collapsed, and he couldn't get by.
"He has not found Jay." Zane slid down the roof tiles. "I am going in after him. You stay to wait for Cole and the others!"
"I am coming with you!" Echo skid after him. Zane whirled around, almost tipping off the edge of the roof. "I know where he is!"
"But..." Zane didn't finish, but Echo read in his eyes: 'But I want you to stay safe.' Echo frowned in determination, straightening his shoulders, all fear banished.
"I am built to protect those who cannot protect themselves!"
Zane stared. Precious seconds ticked by. Zane took a deep breath, and nodded. "Let's go."
They both leaped to the ground, landing with heavy thuds, and, rolling to their feet, sprinted through the thinning mob to the Hall entrance.
Those protestors faintest of heart had fled long ago. The rest were being rounded up by the police. Fire truck sirens blared in the distance. The fire crackled, and the air stank of smoke and burning paint. When Zane reached the front doors, he blasted the flames with a thick sheet of ice, extinguishing the outside of the building. He kicked open the double doors, and he and Echo ran inside.
"Where is he?" Zane asked.
Echo was already at work, scanning back and forth. The inside of the building glowed bright red. Smoke billowed against the ceiling, and sunlight coming in the window cast strange light against it. A blue blur lay behind the wall separating the next room. Echo threw himself into the sweltering heat, gasping as it engulfed him, and charged toward his brother.
"Echo!"
Echo stopped in the middle of the room, panting. The fire had caught on the wallpaper, on books, and on furniture, spreading rampantly. The heat wavered over his metal skin. Through the suffocating smog, he spotted Jay lying face down behind a low table on the other side of the room.
Zane entered the room just as Echo dashed to Jay's side, and while he adjusted Jay's head so he could see his face, the Titanium Ninja worked to coat the walls in ice.
Jay's eyes fluttered open at his touch. "Echo?" he groaned, unable to lift his head. "What are you doing here?"
"I had to come back for you. You remembered me!" Echo bent over, slung Jay's arm over his shoulders, and hauled him to his feet.
One hand still firing ice, Zane reached up with the other to speak into the com-link. "Lloyd, we have Jay, but the fire is spreading faster than we thought." Even as the walls were iced over, the embers melted it.
Their leader answered, and Zane turned to Echo, red flames reflecting off his titanium face plating. "Get Jay out of here! I'm going to help Lloyd!"
Echo adjusted his grip on Jay, who's knees buckled the second his feet touched the ground. He dragged him from the room, and Jay grunted and tried to lift his head.
"Mmf... someone... help..." His words faded, the effort to speak exhausting him.
"I've got you," Echo reassured. While Zane rushed to find the stairs to the next floor, Echo carried Jay outside, far from the flames, and laid him down in the street. People still thronged about. A fire engine had its hose trained on the hall, and the police were trying to move their cars out of the way.
"Echo..." Jay slurred, barely able to keep his eyes open.
"What is it?" How he wished he knew first aid right now!
"Someone... in there."
Echo shook his head. "You and Lloyd found everybody."
Jay grimaced, tilting his head back and forth. "One more."
"You need help," Echo noted, looking around, wondering if one of the officer's could help. "Do not worry, my sensors picked up no one else near the fire."
The Blue Ninja whimpered in frustration. "Fire... must've... blocked..." He stopped to catch his breath.
Then Echo understood. Because Jay and Lloyd held so much elemental power, their signal was stronger. A normal human's body heat was nothing compared to the heat of an explosion. The fire must have hidden them!
He got to his feet, looking back at the hall. Outside, thanks to Zane and the firemen, the flames had been snuffed out, but inside still burned dark and red. Smoke poured out of the broken windows, climbing into the sky. Smoke killed. Fire killed. How much time did the person inside have?
Echo bit his lip. He glanced from Jay to the building. Regaining his resolve, he rushed to the nearest police officer and grabbed his arm.
"Can you help my brother?" He pointed to Jay lying on the pavement, black ash staining his gi.
The officer ran to Jay's side, and after watching him kneel down, Echo turned and raced back into the building.
The heat hit him like a fist. By now the smoke had blackened the walls and left the rooms dark. His heart rate spiked. How could he find this person if he couldn't sense them?
Ok, calm down. Jay must have seen - or at least heard - them, so they cannot be far from where he was.
He pressed on through the smoke. It swirled around his body, closing in behind him. The fire growled.
"Hello?" he called. The smoke swallowed it. "Hello!" he shouted louder.
With a hurried walk, he ducked under a doorframe sparking red and black and into the next room. Without natural or electric light, the room was almost completely dark, but thankfully there wasn't as much smoke. Echo scanned the room with his eyes. "Hello?!"
Even when he activated the headlights in his eyes, he didn't spot anything besides chairs and a desk. He skirted around the desk, headlights combing the floor, where an unconscious person might be laying, and made his way to an open door in the corner of the room. He glanced back over his shoulder before going through, checking one last time that he hadn't missed anyone.
The next room he entered was darker than the last, if that was possible. Only a wafer of smoke flowed against the ceiling. Shelves holding stacks of paper and cardboard boxes lined the walls. Many had fallen to the floor, making it difficult to walk around. Something tickled his sensors.
"Can anyone hear me?!"
"Help!" came a faint cry.
Echo's gaze snapped up, glowing eyes piercing the shadows. He only saw shelving and boxes, but his sensors were tingling harder.
"Hello?"
"Help me!" A woman's voice. She was close, but her call was weak.
He swung his gaze to the other side of the room. His headlights landed on a crumpled pile of boxes, and underneath, his scanner picked up the delicate outline of a person.
I found her! He leaped forward. As fast as he could, he hauled the boxes out of the way. He only had to move two before he could see her pinned against the wall. The light from his eyes hit her in the face, and she squinted. He dimmed the brightness.
"Are you alright?" He shoved another box aside.
She nodded, her throat constricting.
"What happened?"
"The explosion," she whispered. "It knocked the boxes down."
How had Jay known about her? Her voice was so quiet. Of course, her voice may have been stronger before, and then there hadn't been roaring flames to drown her out.
"Can you stand?"
She nodded again, grabbing the shelf to help herself to her feet. They both stepped over the boxes to the door. As soon as she entered the office room, she bent over coughing.
The fire leaped closer, snapping against the darkness, and shooting out tendrils of smoke. Heart pounding, Echo sprinted in the direction of the exit, the woman keeping pace alongside him. He felt her glance at him as they ran.
The ceiling groaned and cracked overhead. Black chunks dropped down, clanking off Echo's skull. His feet couldn't match the pace of his heart. He could see the light from the door and the windows. There was an avalanche of sound and charred debris, and then the entire ceiling crashed to the ground. Echo's head smacked the floor, and an intense weight smothered his body.
He coughed, expelling dark, hot ash from his mouth. Another cough echoed his. He managed to look up and see the woman to the side and slightly ahead of him. She yanked her leg out from under the burnt drywall.
Panting, he watched her get up, her dark hair hanging in front of her bent shoulders. She took a step. The fire brandished her with light. She continued to totter forward. Echo struggled to move, but found himself completely pinned.
"Help!" he called to her.
She paused, then dashed out of the building.
"Wait!" he cried, struck by terror and shock. "Come back for me! Come back!"
She didn't answer. He never saw her again.
The flames were all he could hear. They were all he could see - beside the trembling shadows. The air practically bounced with rippling heat. The flames crept along the floorboards, crackling and whipping about maniacally. He was surrounded from all directions, even from above and below.
Echo squirmed under the debris, grunting with exertion, feeling pieces crumble all around him. A nail scratched his trapped hand, and he hissed. When he tried to move it, charred debris collapsed around his face. His chest rose and fell, all the while feeling compressed, and he gasped for air, his breathing loud and shaky.
"Help!"
Only the roar of the fire answered, as if it were a living dragon stalking him.
"Nnnnngh!" he grunted, trying to heave the weight off his shoulders. More charcoal poured around his neck. He dry sobbed.
A small ball of flame burst to his left. Red sparks flew through the air, beautiful for one moment, before they splashed onto the floor. A few landed on Echo's face and he screamed.
In the corner of his screen behind his eyes appeared a red, flashing warning sign.
"What does that mean?" he exclaimed, on the verge of tears.
The flames licking at the hardwood finally came in close. The heat pressed against his face. He grimaced, gritting his teeth as he tried to pull his face away. A black cloud washed over him, painting his eyes, staining them, blinding them... Blackness took over. He couldn't see, but he could feel the ever increasing heat taking hold of his metal. Fever wracked his body. More warning signs flashed behind his eyes.
"Zane! Lloyd! Help! HELP ME!"
"Jay!" Lloyd exclaimed, charging to his brother's side. Jay leaned against a cop car, attended to by one of the paramedic's who'd arrived. He looked up as Lloyd dropped to his knees beside him.
"Thank the First Spinjitzu Master!" he panted, wrapping him in a hug. Jay managed a weak, half smile, soot smudging his freckles.
Zane looked around. "Jay, where is Echo?"
Jay looked up at him as Lloyd pulled away, the lightning ninja's eyes full of concern. "After he pulled me out, he might have gone back in."
Zane stumbled in shock, eyes flying open. "Why?!"
"Someone else was in there..." A tremble entered Jay's voice, tinted with guilt.
All the breath seemed to have been knocked out of Zane. He wheeled on the hall, jaw agape, and would have taken off towards it, but staggered.
"Look!" Lloyd pointed to the figures bounding over the rooftops.
"Zane! Zane!" Echo wept. The embers were roasting him alive. He couldn't see anything! All he could process were the alarms ringing in his head, the crackle of flames, the burns on his skin, and his own screams.
Some other part of the building fell with a crash. Echo writhed in place, burns flaring across his face, neck, and shoulders.
More explosions of sound met his ears like an army of footsteps. The ground under his head vibrated.
"You called for backup?!" Kai shouted dramatically.
Echo cried in joy and in pain. So it was footsteps! His family had come for him! Someone fell by his head, spraying ash. They worked to push the debris off of him, another sibling joining them, hissing as they burned their hands. The weight crushing him decreased. Echo sobbed quietly.
Cold hands touched his face and wiped away the black grime from his eyes. He looked up into Zane's gaze, surprised by the intense fierceness of his expression, jaw clenched, and eyes wild, fiery and cold all at once.
Kai yelled, and with great effort, began drawing all the fire to him - every last flame! It burned around him until he blazed with the intensity of a star. He screamed, his voice all but smothered.
Nya yelled with fury, and began to summon a giant swell of water. It swirled around her, growing with every second. Sweat poured off of her, Cole, and Lloyd under the heat of the fireball in front of them, and they coughed. Nya ordered the water to encompass the room. It bent and twisted like a giant serpent, glowing the colour of amber. Soon it had the blaze surrounded. The effect was the appearance of a massive glass lantern.
Then the water dove inwards, and there was a crashing hiss of steam. White vapour poured everywhere, filling each corner of the room, and rolling through the doors.
One of them coughed, and a bit of rubble tumbled to the ground.
"Is everyone okay?" Kai asked.
Everybody looked at each other. Smoke still clung to the ceiling and walls, and now white fog hovered over the floors. All eyes landed on Echo, who still hadn't got up. Cole moved to help him, but burnt his hand and jumped back with a yelp.
"Sorry," Echo mumbled.
"Oh my gosh!" Nya said, voice watery.
Zane, frost crystalizing on his fingers, brushed away the last of the rubble, and lifted Echo under the arms so he sat up on his knees. Echo grimaced. The burns from his shoulders up throbbed, as did the dents and bruises in his back. Zane wore a pained look. "Echo, you must get up." Around them, their siblings were trying not to cough.
Murmuring something, Echo tried to stand. He rose one slow inch at a time, knees bent, gaze dull.
"Is something broken?" Cole asked.
"His system is overheating," Zane replied, not taking his eyes off his younger brother. "He is lucky he did not shut down..." he said more quietly.
At last, Echo stood almost at his full height. It hurt to move. The burns... the burns were nearly all he could think about.
"We can get a stretcher," Nya said. "Then we can get him to Borg's, and decide who's going with him, and who's... going with Jay to the hospital."
"Let's go, then," Kai headed for the door, coughing.
Eyelids drooping, Echo smiled at Zane and said, "Thank you for coming back for me."
Echo found it fascinating that, like robots, humans malfunctioned and needed repairs, too. Sometimes their limbs were even replaced, and skin and vital organs could be transplanted. He had already learned this from Borg during one of his first visits with him, but he was reminded of it when he found out Jay had gone to the hospital. In Echo's mind, Borg was his doctor. He hoped Jay's doctor was as kind as the inventor was.
"I'm certain Jay will be fine," Borg smiled as he put one of his tools away in a drawer. The hydraulics whispered as it closed.
"I'm glad," Echo sighed. Lloyd, Nya, and Cole had gone with him, while Zane and Kai had rushed Echo to Borg Industries in Kai's car. Echo wished he could go to the hospital to see Jay, too. He was most curious to see how a human was repaired.
"I'm sure you are," Borg chuckled. "You might be the most glad, most generous person I have ever met. And it would seem you are one of the bravest, too."
"Braver than that stone-hearted..." Kai mumbled, arms crossed, from where he leaned against a monitor. "I 'oughta set her on fire!" In telling them what had happened, Echo had mentioned the woman he'd saved, and how she'd run off.
"Kai, be quiet," Zane scolded beside him. He wore a stern expression, but didn't bother looking at his hot headed brother.
"It's all over now, anyway," Borg wheeled over to where the three were standing, and settled back in his chair. "Your system has been stabilized, the dents buffered out, your burns treated..." There were still faint scars where the metal had boiled and peeled, but the pain had faded. "And now you will have the ability to keep in touch if similar situations should ever arise." Smirking, Borg tapped his own ear to illustrate the new com-link. "The tracking beacon I installed, as well, is connected both to Zane, and the Bounty. Chances of you getting lost are now quite slim."
"All patched up!" Kai finished.
"Thank you," Zane said. Echo smiled.
"You've had quite the adventure. All of you. Let me know in the morning how you slept tonight. Especially you, Echo."
The door slid open, and closed behind Lloyd as he walked into the room.
"Lloyd!" Echo exclaimed, running forward a few steps. "Is Jay okay?"
The Green Ninja smiled. "Jay's fine. He's headed home. I wanted to see how you were doing."
"All patched up!" Echo beamed, holding his arms out. Kai chuckled behind him.
"You look great!" Lloyd said. "Well, I guess we all do, considering what happened. I can tell Jay he can stop worrying, now."
"Can I go see him?"
"Oh Echo, there is one more upgrade we have to make."
Echo turned to Borg in surprise. "What is it?"
With his typical smirk, Borg picked up a bundle from his desk and handed it over to the droid. Echo took it and held it up. The bundle's tie fell to the floor, and the fabric slipped from its folded state to reveal the full garment.
A gi, beige in colour, with a gold, clockwork dragon winding around the torso, hung from his fingers. The cloth was light and soft, yet he could tell it was durable. The gi would weather well. And it was for him. Designed only for him by the man he had allowed to access his innermost self the past couple weeks. It wrinkled under his hands, causing the dragon to slither in place, its geared scales glinting.
"It is..." Echo couldn't quite get his jaw to work. He stared at the gi, mouth open, eyes round with wonder. "It is so beautiful!" he breathed.
"I'm glad you like it," Borg said, softly and fondly.
Lloyd bent down, picked up the belt that had fallen to the floor, and handed it to the nindroid. "Welcome to the Ninja team, Echo," he smiled.
When they returned to the Bounty with Echo wearing his gi - along with a huge smile - Jay was furious.
"I can't believe you would hold his official ninja ceremony without me!"
"There was no ceremony, Jay," Zane said.
"Well then I want one! We gotta make this official!"
So it was arranged, and later Jay managed to get Sensei to conduct it at the Monastery. Despite (or maybe because of) Jay's efforts to make it super serious, most everyone had the giggles through the entire process of Wu spinjitzu-ing Echo into the gi and then saying some (mostly) inspirational words. By the end of it, even Jay was laughing. Sensei Wu stepped back and watched his students with deep warmth in his eyes.
Night came, and drowsiness settled over Echo Zane.
He paced back and forth across the moonlit deck of the Destiney's Bounty, trying to focus on the nippy night air, on keeping his steps quick. His eyelids would droop, and then he would force them wide open. He looked at the sails. He noted the wind whispering through them. He studied the way the moon glowed through the pale fabric. Something in the back of his mind begged him to close his eyes and lie down.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs leading below deck. He quit pacing and turned around to see Zane step onto the deck in his pajamas. The titanium droid walked over and joined him under the starry sky.
"Are you star gazing?" he asked, sounding happy and relaxed.
"Something is happening to me."
Zane became concerned. "What is wrong?"
"I want to close me eyes," Echo explained, rubbing them. "I feel like I am shutting down!"
The tension in Zane's shoulders melted away. "You are only tired," he explained. "Cyrus Borg told you that you would be able to sleep tonight."
"I don't like it." Echo started pacing again. Zane watched his eyelids grow heavier. He sighed.
"Come, Echo." He took his brother's shoulder and led him downstairs.
Everyone else was in bed. Their quarters were dark, and when they went in, only Cole lifted his head long enough to see who it was. The sheets rustled as he lay back down.
Zane gestured to his bunk, and Echo warily climbed in under the blanket. Zane adjusted the sleeping bag on the floor, where he would sleep, before sitting down on the edge of the bed. Echo sat with his hands gripping the blanket, staring at Zane.
"You have to lie down to fall asleep," he said.
Echo frowned.
Zane offered a sympathetic smile. "Come on."
After a moment, Echo fell back onto the pillow with a soft thump.
Zane chuckled.
"Will it hurt?"
"Sleeping does not hurt. We wouldn't do it every night if it did."
"Hmm..." Echo's eyelids sagged. Just before they closed, he snapped them open again.
"What will it be like?"
"You'll relax, and then everything will go dark, but it only seems to last a short amount of time. It's peaceful. You might even dream."
Echo sat up a bit, eyes round with curiosity. "What's a dream?"
"I suppose it is like watching pictures or memories in your head."
Echo lay back down again. "Interesting..."
Zane yawned, and covered his mouth. His yawn made Echo yawn, and he giggled.
"That means we're both tired," Zane smiled.
Echo let his eyes rest. He listened to the gentle breathing of the others in the room. They were so calm in sleep. Were they dreaming? What were dreams like? He felt shadows press in around him, and a spark of anxiety flickered in his stomach.
"You are sure nothing bad will happen?" What if he never woke up?
"Nothing will happen, and we will all be here in the morning. You are safe. I promise."
Safe... Echo closed his eyes. The darkness seemed to tuck him in after that - like a blanket, velvety and welcoming. He let it cover him. He focused on Zane's voice, his promise that everything would be fine. And he thought of dreams. If he slept, he would no longer be tired in the morning, right? How fascinating.
At last he sank into the pillow, unafraid of the shadows pressing against his eyelids. And for the first time in his life, Echo drifted off to sleep.
Oof. I figured this chapter was going to be long, but this is looooooong. I hope I never write one this length again! XD (Oh gods! If somehow all 6k+ words vanished, I would cry. I don't think I'd ever write another chapter.)
I had a tiny bit of trouble coming up with the plot for this one (also there may be a plot hole in how Echo's scanner works) but OH MY FREAKING GOSH! The excitement in this chapter was SO fun to write! :D I got Little Canadian to read a sentence of it (that sentence ended up in the summary :P) and xey FREAKED! Like, xey slapped me. And then went into shock after screaming a lot. XD So dramatic. I hope this wasn't too dramatic. A lot of adrenaline went into this. I freaked out a couple times! :P I hope you guys freaked out. Rereading it, there I definitely things I would change, and I plan to edit a bit more, but hopefully it's still enjoyable.
Also, what do ya think of the woman Echo saved? I wanted a plot twist and shocked myself by creating this *****. She's obviously only looking out for herself, but I figured a big reason she just left him was because he's a robot, and has "less value" than a human. I don't think I made that clear, though.
Isabella camovic, I'm sorry your last request didn't feature here. Unfortunately, a request my sibling made didn't make it all the way, either. This chapter was just so determined to disobey me!
#IHaven'tForgottentheElementalDragons (Also, I know Zane said in season 2 that nindroids can't dream, but to heck with that!)
Let me know your thoughts, guys. And a HUGE thanks to anyone who even bothered to read this! Have a great day!