Chapter 12
A Month to Live
A portion of the cheek the left side of Zane's face is missing, being a deep hole that exposes the metal and a few circuits. He lifts his sleeve on his left arm to see his robotic flesh partially black and partially pale, almost white and sticky blood adhering to a long gash that runs nearly the entire length of his arm. He notices blue staining his hospital clothing and lifts the top of the shirt to see a blue, liquid substance oozing from his heart. His right leg is twisted outward slightly and creaks when he shifts his weight. "You said you were my father's assistant. Do you know what's going on?" Zane inquires.
"Well, I helped your father a bit, but I mostly learned particular things from him; however, not the same kind of things," Marcy responds.
"What things?"
"We researched ways of prolonging life and making humans robots so they would not die. We did not succeed, until now. I can make robots humans and vice versa, yet I wish Julien had been there the moment I found out. Do you know where he is?" Marcy changes the subject.
Zane's throat constricts as he turns to face her, swallowing, attempting not burst in tears at the mention of where Julien is. A tear trickles and slides into the cavity in his face, causing zapping pain to course through him. He stifles a cry and manages to say to the woman, "He- h-he is…gone."
She casts her face down and speaks quietly, "I wondered if he lived or if not, but I-I hoped he was…alive. I'm sorry."
"Do you know what is wrong with me?" Zane ventures to ask again.
"I do but...Zane- well, you must know eventually, and I don't want you to find out the hard way," she places a hand against her forehead and paces back and forth, "You are damaged enough that your heart and body are worn out. If you do not give it more time to heal, your energy source will never function again. I usually would have to observe your insides to determine anything, but you are nearly in a critical state. There are only two methods to save you, otherwise you will only have one month to live at maximum."
"How long has he been missing?" Lloyd asks, shooting out of his seat, and putting the phone on speaker.
"It's been several hours and we still haven't found him. He fell off a wire at the hospital and…disappeared," Pixal informs him, her usually monotone voice now filled with deep concern, sounding a bit muffled over the phone.
"Where are you guys? I'll go look for Zane right now!" Lloyd shouts.
"We're at the hospital where Kai is," Pixal replies.
"We're on our way," Garmadon says as the family leaves the table and Lloyd hangs up while they head for the door.
"Where is Zane?" Sensei Wu walks out of his room, his face lighting up for the first time since a year.
"Are you ready for this?" Marcy confirms with Zane as she picks up his blueprint from the floor, holding a toolbox in her other hand.
Zane nods, his head rubbing against the table he had been created on, and responds, "I am ready." Marcy sets the box down and flips on a light on the wall.