Awakening - Echo has been found broken down in the lighthouse and has been brought back and rebuilt in Ninjago. No one knows what to make of him, so they send in the person they think is best equipped to welcome him to the world - Created for Ninjago Angst Week 2020

The light was brighter than he was used to when his systems finally restarted. He was sitting in a fairly large room, mostly empty except for the table he now sat at, and the chairs on either side. He didn't recognize this place. It certainly wasn't anywhere in the lighthouse. But where else could he have been? However, this was hardly the strangest thing that graced his eyes. The strange thing was the person that sat across from him- someone else. Someone new, someone he had never seen before. She had pale white skin and dark purple lines scattered along her complexion. Her bright green eyes seemed to glow as she softly met his gaze- a connection he hadn't participated in for quite some time.

"Are you awake?" She asked. "Are your processors feeling functional and all?" Her voice was kind and her manor only slightly concerned as she patiently awaited his answer.

He looked at her, processing the sound of her voice and her presence in general. After a moment he managed to realize what she had asked, his own attention redirecting to himself. He looked down at his hands, moving them a bit. He nodded a bit hesitantly, still very confused.

She mirrored his nod, her expression remaining mostly unchanged. "Nothing feels too out of place?"

His eyes finally found their way back to hers, his mind now thoroughly muddled. He parted his lips, pausing for a moment, trying to decide what it was he wanted to say.

"Who…"

"My name is Pixal," She smiled. "I'm a droid like you are, see?" She held out her hand, her fingers slowly disjointing to reveal the metalwork holding them together. "We're in a safe place right now, everything is okay." His hand slowly reached forward towards hers, his fingertips tracing along the inside of her palm. It had been so long since he'd touched another's hand. The feeling of physical touch seemed so foreign to him now. "Do you think-" she paused for a moment as his eyes lifted back to hers. "Do you think you could tell me who you are?"

"...My name is Zane," he answered. This answer seemed to invoke a reaction of some kind in her. Not that it was unexpected to her, but rather something of a troubling confirmation. "Is that… wrong? My father would sometimes call me Echo Zane. I don't-"

"No, you're fine," she reassured him. "Do you remember much about your father?"

"Well…" Zane sat up in his chair, thinking over what there was to say. "He built me. We lived together for quite some time before… he left." Zane went quiet, his eyes turning to the floor.

"And... how long have you been on your own since then, Echo?" Pixal pried.

Zane thought for a moment. He didn't have an answer.

He didn't know.

"I… Well…" he blinked a few times, his feelings creeping up on him as he tried to quantify the infinite void he had suffocated in. "It's been… years…" He looked up at Pixal again. "A decade probably, at least."

"You've been alone all that time?" She asked, her eyes filling with pity.

"You're the first person I've seen since he left," he sighed. "Are there… Are there other people here?" he asked. "Is my father here? Is this where he went?" He glanced around the room.

"I'm sorry Echo, I'm afraid your father's been without us for quite a few years now."

Her words didn't hurt as much as he thought they might. Maybe because he'd already been without him for so long. Maybe because there was some kind of resentment he'd built up towards the man. Either way, it didn't do much to help lift his spirits either.

"But there are others waiting outside," Pixal continued. "We can go out to see them if you'd like." Zane's eyes darted to the door behind her. "We just didn't want to overwhelm you when you first woke up. But your brother is out there and-"

"My brother?"

"Your brother, Zane." Pixal continued.

Echo could feel tears swelling rapidly in his eyes. "As in the original… the first Zane?"

Pixal nodded. "Would you like to talk with him?"

Echo could feel the water spill from his eyes as his hand rushed up to brush them away.

"Is everything okay, Echo?" Pixal's hand reached forward, covering one of his.

"Yeah," Echo smiled. "It's just… I didn't know he was-" he stopped, catching his breath for a moment before he could finish. "I didn't know he was real.

"I thought my father had just made him up."