Father-Zane
People often say that death is a passage which all men have to pass once in their lives.
For Zane's father, he was passing it not only once, but twice.
Zane held the old man's hand tightly as he breathed slowly, in and out, in and out, as his life, unlike his breath, seeped out, out, out. The old man seemed to be so fragile; his body delicate and brittle like an dried twig, ready to snap at the slightest shock; his hands, once strong and skilled, were now held by Zane, only managing to weakly grasp his thin fingers around the young man's sturdy hands.
"Zane," He breathed out, so softly Zane couldn't almost catch it, "Zane, my son…"
"Yes, father?" Zane replied, leaning close to catch every word his father spoke.
"What…a strong…man…you grew…to…be." He whispered, "I…am…happy…that I…could see you…like this…before I really…passed away…"
"I'm happy that I could be with you too, father. Now, don't speak, father. Don't use too much of your energy-the doctors are coming, they will make you feel better…"
"No…My…time…has…come. Rather, it…already…passed…when I first…died. I was truly…blessed…to see you…again. I am one…of the luckiest…man on Ninjago…Zane…"
"No, no, the doctors are coming, father. You're just feeling a bit weak and delirious, that's all. Your time is not yet here." Zane tightened his grip on the fragile hand within his palm, but not too much, as if afraid that too much force will break it. His voice was calm and soft as usual, but a tiny trembling of his lower lip betrayed his anxiety.
"My…son…I am…very…proud of you…very much so…you have grown…much stronger…than I could…ever raised you…to be. When I…first passed away…I was…afraid that my…death would break…you…so I…erased your memory…but I know…that you're much…more resilient…and supported…now. I know…that you'll…fare well…and grow…to be…one of the…greatest heroes…Ninjago has…ever known…"
"Father…" Zane bit his lower lip, his metal-like grey eyes shut in worry and unease. He carefully held the hand up to his forehead, feeling the weak vein still pumping the blood around the body of the old man, feeling the life that was still continuing, though very weakly.
"Don't…be…ashamed…that you're…a machine, Zane. You…are…a human…like…everybody else. No, more…human…to some, even. Your…kind…mind…and intelligent…brain…will be…a great…help…to everybody…around you. Always…use…your strength…for people…who cannot…defend themselves."
"Yes, father. I will. I will use my power to defend people who cannot defend for themselves. I will protect the world, father. I will make you proud."
"I…already…am…very much…proud of you…son. And always…know…that…you can…also…be supported…too. You…have great…friends…you will…help you greatly…do not…seek to…bear all your…weights…alone."
"Yes, father."
"And…a…promise…for me?"
"I will promise you anything, father. Anything."
Dr. Julien looked at Zane with loving, caring eyes and smiled gently.
"Please…take good…care of yourself…and follow me…onto this journey…long, long time after…me."
"I will, father. I promise."
"And…Zane?"
"Yes, father?"
The frail old man seemed to be running out of energy, his breath getting shaky and his hands held almost no power at all. However, when he said the last sentence, the words were loud and clear, for all the word to hear.
"I loved you very much."
A drop of tear slid down Zane's mechanical eyes and down his cheek and the sob he had been holding onto began breaking out. He buried his face in the old man's hand, crutching the old skin tightly and lovingly.
"Me too, father." He whispered.
"I loved you too."
Zane heard no reply as the last of the old man's spirit seeped out from the man's body with a touch of smile remaining on the now empty body.
And Zane wept for his father, an amiable, wonderful man who had created him.
"I am sorry, Zane. I know how it feels like." Kai gave Zane his sympathy as he patted the white-haired man on the back. Zane nodded mutely and fingered the yellow bracelet he wore on his right arm over the black suit, not meeting anyone's eyes.
The picture of his father that faced him was nothing like the faces he saw on the last days. In the picture, his father was jubilant and healthy, his glasses for once tidy but his hair crazy like usual. He smiled at Zane with the uttermost joy, his eyes sparkling in a way they always did when he was thinking of a new invention. Yes, that was his father-his father whom Zane so sorely missed, like a piece of his heard had been taken away. Even though he had experienced his death once before, experiencing it twice did not make it any easier. If anything more, it made the pain even more sting. These were the kind of pains you could not get used to.
"Zane, would you be willing to tell us about your father, since you were his only family?" Sensei Wu kindly asked him, startling Zane out of his thoughts.
"Of course, Sensei." Zane replied. There were a great number of people gathered for his father's funeral-after all, Dr. Julien was a respected inventor and member of the community.
Slowly he walked to the front of the room, his legs shaky, and his throat tight. It took a few tries before he could get his vocal transmitters to work properly.
"Dear guests," he began, "thank you for coming to my father's funeral. As all of you may know, he was a great inventor, one with cognitive and intuitive mind. He invented various things that have helped us greatly in times of need or danger, like me.
"Like he was a great inventor, he was also a great father. He has taught me many great things; he has helped me in life and supported me like no other parents could. He taught me what love was, and he taught be what emotions were, why they were here. In the heart."
Zane placed his hand on his heart, or at least, where the heart would be for normal people. Some people in the audience were nodding, some were weeping, and some showed no reaction at all. Suddenly, something went off in Zane's head-maybe the logical button was turned off, maybe the emotional button was turned up a notch too high-but for whatever reason, he felt a surge of emotions-anger, sadness, emptiness-and he decided that he wasn't just going to stick with the routine speech for his father. No, he was going to speak his mind.
"Actually, cross that. He was a horrible father." He almost shouted, his grey eyes brazen with anger.
"When he first passed away, he erased all my memories, so I was left clueless at some random village with no idea of who I was. And when he was brought back by the Skalkins, he hid away in a faraway island where nobody could ever find him! And now that I've reunited with him, he now passes away and leaves me all alone again…"
Salty tears began forming around his eyes. Zane batted them away harshly, not pausing a second.
"Why couldn't he have just left my memories to mourn? I have loved him so much; and that was what made him afraid…that my love for him would break me. And yes, he was right. I loved him too much…now that I've experienced his death again, I feel like I'm going to break…it just…it just hurts so much. And what kind of father lets his child feel so much pain?"
His voice dropped to a volume barely above whispering.
"I couldn't help but love him with all my heart; and now he breaks it. That's how great he is…to make his son love him the most in the world and pass away! And he had made me promise that I would come after him a long, long time after. Now I have to wait a long time until I can see him again…what a horrible dad…to make his son wait so long to see him…"
Zane had loved his father too much.
And it hurt like nothing he had ever experienced before.
"I'm…taking…you…with…me…Overlord!"
Zane shouted, his hands firm on the Overlord's black, slimy tentacles. An array of data flashed before his eyes; warnings, warnings, warnings. Too much power, the heart is at the critical mass, they said.
I'm sorry, father. Zane thought. I guess I'm not keeping my promise to you…see you soon.
His ice power exploded, aimed straight and true that the heart of the Overlord.
Say, Father, when I see you at the Underworld, all broken and scattered, will you re-build me and lead me through the Underworld, just like you did when you were alive?
A/N: Hello there! I feel that this is a lot...OOC for Zane, but I really wanted to see him get out of his all-so-calm state and say what he feels actually for once. Thank you for reading and please review!