Zane:

"Auria! Where are you?" Zane called out to the shadows that surrounded him.

He continued walking around, searching for Auria and a way out of the shadow mist that surrounded him.

"What is this? Am I in a new environment? Or do I still reside within Ninjago city?" Zane was asking himself, as he continued searching for a way out.

"You ask a lot of questions huh?" A familiar voice was heard from the shadows.

Zane whiped out his Platinum Ice Shurikens, as he turned to see a shadow version of Darkness looking at him with an amused expression and crossed arms.

"Darkness. What have you done?" Zane asked, as he readied himself to fight.

"Woah. I would think you being the master of ice and all, that you would be slow to fight. But then again, it's probably in your programming," Shadow Darkness said.

Zane's grip tightened on his shurikens, as they started to glow brighter.

"Oh, did I hit a circuit? Or was it a fuse?" Shadow Darkness asked with a smug smirk, as Zane looked at him with annoyance.

"What is this mist? And where is Auria?" Zane asked, in all seriousness.

"Ooooh. Worried about the princess huh? That's funny. A robotic substitute for a living being actually caring about someone? What an impossibility," Shadow Darkness said, as he shook his head slowly.

"You diminish my existence and feelings as folly, but your cruelty and arrogance are nothing to be proud of," Zane said.

Shadow Darkness' eyes widened at Zane's comeback, but then he started laughing.

"HA! Your fortitude is strong, but I'm sure it would be much more stable if you were an actual living person," Shadow Darkness said, with a dark grin.

Then Zane heard some movement behind him, as he turned to see what was there.

"Your just a machine..." Shadow Darkness said, and then a giant black claw rose from under Zane's feet.

Zane jumped away before the claw could grab him. However, when Zane landed on the ground, another claw tried to grab him, and he back flipped away from it. Then smaller black claws started coming from the mist to grab Zane, as he dodged and cut the limbs off of the dastardly hands. Yet, the hands kept on coming, and they surrounded him. However, Zane hit the ground with his Platinum shurikens, and the ground and claws all became encased in ice.

"Your a robot... a machine. You can't last long," Shadow Darkness' voice was heard echoing in the shadows.

Cracks were heard, as the black claws busted out of the ice, and Zane shielded himself from the projectile pieces of ice that flew all around. Then Zane felt something clamp to his foot, as he saw that one of the smaller claws had grabbed his leg. He cut the hand with his shuriken, but then a dozen more hands encircled him, and each one grabbed Zane. Each claw held onto Zane's wrists, ankles, elbows, knees, abdomen, and neck. They lifted him up at a sixty degree angle, as Zane struggled to free himself from their grip.

"I told you didn't I?" Shadow Darkness said, as he appeared floating a couple of feet from Zane.

"This won't hold me back for long!" Zane said, as he continued to struggle.

"You may be right... so let's make sure that you can't escape," Shadow Darkness said, as he snapped his fingers.

In that moment, the claw hands that held onto Zane's wrist started to pull back with much force, as Zane tried to pull against it. However, Zane wasn't strong enough to pull back for long, and then

SNAP!

Zane's hands were disconnected from his arms, as the claw hands held his hands before his eyes.

"Wha-What? What are you doing?!" Zane asked in panic, and Shadow Darkness smirked and said,

"Making sure you won't escape, and the best way to do that is to take you apart. Considering that your a robot, I'm sure you'll survive."

Then the claw hands that held Zane's left leg started to pull back, as Zane tried to pull away.

"N-No! You can't do this!" Zane pleaded, as his left leg was detached from his body.

Shadow Darkness started laughing, as the claws that held onto Zane's right arm started pulling back hard until his arm was pulled off.

"AH!" Zane yelped, as the claws that held each of his limbs were waving them around in front of him.

"Wait a minute!" Shadow Darkness said, and the claws with Zane's limbs moved away.

Shadow Darkness floated closer to Zane, as the claw that held Zane's abdomen opened up, although it stood there so that Zane wouldn't fall. Then Shadow Darkness opened up the center compartment of Zane, where his multiple switches and inner mechanisms were. Zane was quickly trying to analyze the situation so that he could anticipate Shadow Darkness' intentions. Then Zane's eyes widened when he realized what Shadow Darkness could possibly do.

"I can see in your eyes what your thinking... and you are correct," Shadow Darkness said with a devious smirk, as he slowly reached for Zane's memory switch.

"No! Please don't! My memories are a vital establishment in my personality and overall self!" Zane pleaded.

"Oh I'm completely aware of that... that's why I'm going to do it anyway. Ha Ha Ha HA HA!" Shadow Darkness said, and then he flipped the memory switch.

"NOOO!" Zane cried out, and he struggled to escape as he could see all of his memories fading away right before his eyes.

Shadow Darkness continued to laugh, as Zane slowly stopped struggling until his mind could not recall anything... even who he was.

Auria:

'Where is he?' Auria thought, as she searched for Zane through the shadow mist.

"Shall thee lady search the endless mist for her mechanical love forever?" A familiar voice whispered from the shadows, as Auria turned around to hear what the voice was saying.

"I'm sure I won't have to search for long, Darkness," Auria replied, and then Shadow Darkness emerged from the shadows.

"Probably. But time shouldn't make much of difference to you, since your not fully human anyway," Shadow Darkness said casually.

Auria's eyes closed slightly, as she looked at Darkness with furrowed brows.

"Did I hit a nerve princess?" Shadow Darkness asked with a cheeky grin.

"... I'm not sure if it's mechanical or not, but you've only annoyed me a bit," Auria said casually.

"Oooo, you've coped... Heh heh heh. Or have you?" Shadow Darkness asked, as he disappeared.

Auria looked around to see where Shadow Darkness could have disappeared to.

"These shadows... this dark place... isn't it familiar Auria? Doesn't this atmosphere remind you of someplace?" Shadow Darkness' voice echoed from the shadows.

Auria pondered what Shadow Darkness was saying, while keeping her Platinum Wind Fans at the ready to attack.

"The emptiness, the loneliness... you should know this place very well, especially since a place like this was formed in your heart after you became a cyborg. You remember... and I can sense that this place is still present in your heart, although it is much more miniscule than it originally was," Shadow Darkness said.

Auria took a moment to reflect, and she realized that what Shadow Darkness said was true. She placed her hand over her heart, as she felt that there was a small place where she still felt sadness from being lonely. Her grip tightened from frustration in herself for not truly letting go of her fear of loneliness. However, Auria breathed in and out slowly, and then she held onto her Platinum fans firmly.

"Oh? What is this? You still feel confident enough to fight against me?" Shadow Darkness asked, as he revealed himself from the shadows.

"My personal feelings should not hinder me from accomplishing my mission, or the others in our quest to defeat you," Auria replied, as she took a fighting stance with a more serious expression.

"Heh heh heh. I see..." Shadow Darkness said, as he closed his eyes and held his hand under his chin to think.

Then he opened his eyes and said, "Alright. Let's see if you can take this, your highness."

Shadow Darkness smirked deviously, as he vanished once more. Auria readied herself for what ever attack he was going to land, but it didn't come. Then Auria heard her name being called in the distance,

"Auria."

Auria listened again for the voice, and when she heard them call her name again, she started heading towards it, making sure to be aware of her surroundings if Shadow Darkness decided to show himself again.

"Auria!"

The voice was getting more clearer.

"Auria!"

The voice was more audible, and Auria's eyes widened when she recognized who the voice belonged to.

"Zane!" Auria called out, as she started running towards where Zane's voice was coming from.

"AURIA!" Zane yelled out in more distress, as Auria hastened her run.

"Zane! I'm coming!" Auria yelled back, and she saw something white ahead of her.

"Zane. Za-? ZANE!" Auria screamed out, when she saw that Zane was on the ground and that his robotic limbs were separated from him and on the ground.

Auria ran next to Zane's body that still had his head and one arm attached to it. She held up his head with one arm, as she placed her other hand on his chest to feel if his circuits were still on.

"Oh Zane, what happened to you? Did Darkness do this to you?" Auria asked with a heavy heart because his condition looked very bad.

Zane turned towards Auria weakly, and said, "A-Auria... I-I'm sorry... I-I can't g-go on... Forgive m-me... I failed y-you."

"No. No Zane! Don't say that. You didn't fail. I-I can fix you. I can f-fix you up," Auria said as her left eye began to water.

"I-It is t-too late... and A-Auria... I want y-you to k-know that... that I... I l-love... you..." Zane said, and then his eyes dimmed to gray as they half closed.

Auria looked at Zane's motionless form in shock, and then she said, in a quivering voice,

"Z-Zane! No! P-Please no... don't leave me... Don't leave me alone Zane! Please! I... I... "

Tears began to fall from Auria's left eye, as she lowered her head in sadness. During this time, Shadow Darkness stood watching Auria from the shadows, as he lightly laughed.