AN: Someone tell me why Nimbus (the terrifying creature from the Cloud Kingdom that appears in precisely one episode) is an option for a character to include, but the Postman isn't an option. Sigh.
"Zane?" Nya asked tentatively, looking back and forth, staring at the Postman she'd victoriously iced over and staring at the teammate she'd apparently scared by doing so. "Are you okay?"
Zane stayed still. His eyes were fixed on the frozen Postman, but his mouth hung slightly open. A low sound exited him, something like a mix of wheezing and whirring, but whether it was from his mouth or from one of his various mechanisms, Nya had no idea. She watched with alarm as his arms trembled at his sides and his chest heaved.
"Zane, you're kind of freaking me out here," Nya said, and she took a careful step toward him.
Apparently, that wasn't careful enough.
"No!" Zane cried out, forcefully enough that Nya stumbled backward.
"Zane?" Nya asked, even more alarmed now.
Zane shook his head with rapid agitation but didn't take his gaze off of the Postman, who looked irritated but motionless within his cage of ice.
"It's okay," Nya said, trying to sound soothing.
It didn't work, evidently, because Zane only got more agitated.
"No, no, no!" Zane said, and his arms trembled harder, so badly that he dropped his shurikens. They clanged as they hit the ground, a rough metallic sound, and Zane stumbled back a step in turn, still keeping his gaze on the frozen Postman.
"What's wrong?" Nya asked, feeling concerned and confused and not at all victorious anymore. "Hey, everything's okay, okay? Let me come over there and-"
"Stay away from me!" Zane screamed, and he swiveled from staring at the Postman to staring at Nya.
But no. Not quite. Not exactly staring at Nya. More like staring right through Nya.
"It's me. It's okay, it's just me. It's Nya," Nya said, and she took a step forward.
Zane scrambled backward, away from her, until his back pressed against one of the side walls of the post office. His whole body shook. "Please! I cannot-"
He clamped his mouth shut, cutting himself off. Zane closed his eyes, and it almost looked like he was ready to cry.
"You cannot? You can't what?" Nya asked, trying to think of anything she could say that would help. "It's okay, Zane. It's Nya. You're with me. You're all right."
"But you are not all right!" Zane practically shrieked.
Nya paused. What?
Zane covered his face with his hands and made a half-whimpering, half-wailing noise.
"What are you talking about?" Nya asked in bewilderment. "Of course I'm all right. Zane? Zane, I'm all right, just look at me."
Zane made that half-whimper, half-wail noise again.
"Zane," Nya coaxed, trying her hardest not to let her confusion and concern boil over into anger. It wouldn't help, it really wouldn't help, but oh, how she wanted to get angry right now, at this situation and at all the situations that had led to it. "Look at me, okay?"
Slowly, Zane uncovered his face just enough to peer over his hands at Nya.
"See? I'm all right. I'm okay. I'm good," Nya said.
Zane lowered his hands a little more, not taking his eyes off of Nya as he leaned forward from the wall a little.
"Yeah. There you go," Nya encouraged, a bit of tension easing out of her. "Yeah, see? Everything's good. We fought, and we won, and we can go home and-"
A wretched groaning sound erupted from Zane. His hands flew back up over his face, and he slammed himself back into the wall.
"Zane?" Nya asked, tension rushing back into every part of her.
"Go home," Zane said miserably. "Go home!"
"Sure," Nya said slowly. "We can go home, that's what I-"
"No," Zane said, interrupting quickly. "You can go home. You should go home. You can go, but I- I cannot go there!"
Nya felt her face contort into a fierce scowl without her deciding to make it do so. The idea of Zane not getting to come home set something off in her, something furious and protective and absolutely aching. "What do you mean? Of course you can come home!"
"Perhaps I can," Zane allowed, still sounding miserable. "But I should not! I should, I should leave! I cannot do it, I am unable to! I need- I need to- I need you to-"
"What?" Nya asked urgently when Zane's voice trailed off over and over. "What do you need? I'll do it! Whatever you need, I'll make sure of it! What do you need me to do?"
"I need you to stay safe," Zane said. "I need everyone to be all right, and that means I need you to leave me behind."
And that's when the fury and confusion and concern and protectiveness and everything boiled over.
"What are you talking about?!" Nya yelled. "No way! After everything we've gone through? After everything we did to get you back? Not a chance! I can't!"
"You must!" Zane said, and it sounded like a plea more than anything else. He slumped in place, his voice dropping lower and lower as he kept his hands over his face. "I am… I am not the same as I was. I am not… I am dangerous. I do not want to be, but I am. I did not even realize what I was doing! I did not mean to use my ice at all! And I did, and I hurt him, and now it will all only get worse! I cannot, I will not do it again, I cannot-"
"Wait," Nya said. Her heart throbbed. Her stomach felt sick. Her face was going numb. "What do you mean you didn't mean to use your ice and you hurt somebody?"
Zane gave a small sob. "The Postman! I, I was not, I could have truly-"
The horrible realization dawned on Nya.
"Zane," Nya said breathlessly. "Zane, you didn't freeze the Postman."
"I did! There he is!" Zane said, pulling his hands away from his face and throwing them out in front of himself in the direction of the Postman. "I froze him, and I hurt him, and I am as much a villain as I ever was while in the Never Realm! I have made myself irredeemable, and I cannot go back with you, and I am a villain who must-"
"Zane, you are not a villain," Nya said firmly. "If anyone here is a villain, really, it's me."
Zane stopped his frightened rambling. His hands slowly drooped down to his sides. After a moment, he asked, "What?"
Nya sighed. "I was afraid to tell you about this, but I should've just said it. It would've saved you a lot of pain, apparently. Because, Zane? You didn't freeze the Postman. I did."
