#yes this is what that one cryptor and Zane thing is supposed to be for yes that first image is for another comic TEEHEE

[just-another-colin-kinnie]

let me introduce you guys to my silly nindroid brother au where its just one big family bonding roadtrip

[fanfalc-616]

The Rights Of A Nindroid

Chapter Twenty-Nine

(Previous Chapter Here)

Yeah I finished this before 28 and that’s why it took so long and you get two in a row now dhdjhd

It walks silently down the hall, staring straight ahead to avoid eye contact while still processing its surroundings.

It had been following orders for a period, and they had rewarded its repeated compliance with occasional breaks from the handcuffs- though now is not one of those breaks.

It’s still under intense supervision, but it isn’t hurt as much as it used to be- the time spent in the training room has decreased dramatically.

Zane- or Original, as it is made to respond to- is not very fond of the circumstances they’re keeping it in, but it holds its tongue, no longer voicing its displeasure.

Thinking back has become difficult as of late- it knows that it has a past, and it remembers some details- but things are blurred now. It recalls doing something a while back to let go, to accept that there was no more use in resisting, and it knows that the event was connected to something important from before it was brought here- but it can’t remember much more than a few colors and traits that seem connected to them.

But Zane isn’t supposed to think about its past- as much as it wants to, it was ordered to only focus on what its… ‘Masters’... tell it.

That word still feels very wrong to it, but refusing to address them as that ends up with more pain and punishment.

Zane does not like being punished.

Sometimes it sees another nindroid around the facility- the lockers they’re kept in when not in use are side by side, and the most common occurrence is when both are removed or put in at the same time.

The other nindroid seems familiar, and while it knows it’s not supposed to speak without permission, the two have occasionally taken to communicating with Morse Code.

The guards say that the other’s name is General, but it doesn’t seem to like it when Zane calls it that. It insists that its name is Cryptor, but it still responds to General when they’re outside of the lockers- though it seems very reluctant to follow any instructions.

Zane refocuses its attention on the hall, but mild confus… er. Well. The code that represents the feeling of confusion forms when it realizes that it isn’t usually taken in this direction.

They’re taking it somewhere else? Zane hadn’t realized that there was anywhere else it would need to be taken to, but it looks as though-

Is that…

Is that a door?

Well, yes, the facility has many doors, but the one it’s being led towards looks as though it leads to the outside.

Glancing around, Zane struggles to think of what the reasoning for this could be. What-

It stops, going completely still when it recognizes Martha standing by the exit.

She does not seem to like it very much, but it has overheard her expressing relief to another worker over its recent ‘change of heart’- she had said something about protecting the citizens of Ninjago from faulty programming and misused powers.

Zane doesn’t think it would intentionally harm any innocent people, but it didn’t protest- it had sensed that its input on the matter would not be appreciated.

The guards also stop, and Zane looks over at Martha, tilting its head ever so slightly to the side as it waits for instruction.

“Original. You will not try to leave or contact anyone who does not work here. You will not connect yourself to the internet. You will not do anything to undermine this facility or the people who work here. You will not do anything you aren’t ordered to. Is that understood?”

The coded confusion increases by a large amount, but Zane nods its understanding. “I understand,” it confirms.

Martha arches an eyebrow, and Zane rushes to fix its statement.

“I understand, Master.” It puts emphasis on the word it had missed the first time, hoping that it will be able to avoid a reprimand for the mistake.

Zane very much does not like using the title, but it ignores the feeling- they tell it that it’s not supposed to have likes or dislikes, but Zane isn’t quite sure how to not feel those things- so it just does its best to ignore them.

Martha nods, adjusting the coat she wears. And much to Zane’s surprise, she has only three guards accompany them.

It brushes that aside as it follows her, carefully studying the nearby terrain. It can feel something inside telling it to run- but it was just given a direct order not to.

Zane pushes the feeling aside.

It is not supposed to think these things.

Still, it hesitates a moment before getting into the car as instructed. Inside of it, something is screaming, something is urging him to-

Him?

Zane roughly shoves the thoughts from its head, trembling as it does as it’s told.

It isn’t allowed to think like that. It’s a nindroid, and it’s not supposed to take on a human identity. They told him this over and over and over, and those kinds of mistakes always result in the worst punishments.

Although it wonders where it’s being taken to, Zane doesn’t ask anyone about it, or attempt to keep track of the direction. It speculates that Martha wouldn’t approve if she found out, and it’s already slipped up once today- any more acting out will most likely result in a return visit to the training room.

When the car stops, and it’s made to get out, Zane tilts its head. They’re just outside a forest filled with birch trees, as well as an abundance of snow.

It feels fake surprise form when the handcuffs are removed, but quickly looks over at Martha, waiting for instruction.

“You’ve been here before,” she tells him, “and I need you to find the workshop.”

Zane feels its confusion intensify, and it glances around the forest. “I have?”

A split second later, it realizes its mistake.

“My apologies, Master. I did not mean to doubt you. I simply…” it pauses, struggling to find a way to explain without being disrespectful.

“... this place is not in my database.” It finishes, hoping that the correction is suitable.

Martha gives it a look of disapproval, and Zane fights back a wince. It shouldn’t wince or show any form of emotion; those things are human.

Zane is not human.

It should not act like one.

“I still need you to find it, Original.” The words are pointed with an underlying threat, and Zane finds itself dreading the idea of what might happen if it fails.

“I’ll do my best, Master.” Zane confirms the words with a nod before turning its attention to the forest.

Slowly, ensuring that it’s not acting out of line, it begins to look around, trying to find something that might look familiar.

Strangely enough, the forest almost seems to make it feel something, some kind of longing or grief.

Pushing that aside, Zane continues its search, carefully stepping deeper into the forest.

The more it walks, the more intense the feelings grow, and new ones, ones it can’t recognize, spawn beside them. They become harder and harder to block out, but nevertheless, it keeps going, studying the forest as it attempts to find the workshop Martha had mentioned.

They eventually come to a clearing, and Zane has a sharp intake of breath.

He knows this place.

With shaking hands, it goes up to a large tree near the far side of the clearing, studying a strange engraving in the wood.

After glancing back at Martha to ensure that it’s still in line, it pushes on the symbol, and-

And the tree opens, revealing a spiral staircase that goes far underneath the length of the tree’s roots.

It looks over at Martha again, waiting for instructions. She had specifically said to not do anything that it wasn’t ordered to, and it needs to listen, it needs to avoid getting punished as much as it can.

“Go on.” She gestures towards the opening, and Zane quickly follows the instruction, starting down the spiral stairs to the large room below.

Looking around, the strange feelings inside seem to multiply, something aching strongly in its chest.

It waits at the bottom of the stairs for Martha and the guards to follow, doing its best to hide the digital replica of curiosity that’s begun to form.

When Martha reaches the bottom of the stairs, she studies the workshop with an interested expression. Her gaze locks onto Zane for a moment before returning to the room around them.

Zane stands there, unmoving, she begins to look through some blueprints on a nearby desk.

Something about this place feels so familiar, but Zane can’t quite seem to put its finger on it. It must have been here before, but… most of the time before the facility is relatively blank, with only a few fragments that it can really recall.

Zane shakes its head minutely, trying once again to dislodge the thoughts. It was ordered not to think about these things, and it has to follow orders- not following orders gets it hurt, and Zane is tired, so, so tired, of being in pain. It just wants to-

No. No, it doesn’t have wants. It has code that makes it believe it has wants, but it doesn’t actually have them. Humans have wants, but Zane is not human. It never has been, and it never will be. It-

Something inside of it tenses when it notices Martha picking up a specific blueprint. It looks… it looks awfully similar to Zane’s design- or at least a rough version of it.

She collects several other blueprints before nodding and heading back towards the stairs. A few steps up, she looks back over at Zane.

“Original. Follow me.” She sounds annoyed at having to tell it that, but Zane isn’t sure what else it should have done. She specifically said not to do anything that it wasn’t directly ordered to, so-

“Yes, Master.” Zane ducks its head, shoving the thoughts from its mind as it dutifully follows her back out of the workshop. Something seems to churn in its artificial gut at the idea of her having those blueprints, but it remains silent, disregarding the feeling.

They exit, along with the guards, and Zane waits for her to take them back to the car that brought them here.

But instead of that, she turns to face Zane, studying it for a long moment.

It does its best to keep a blank, neutral expression as she does- it isn’t supposed to have or show emotion.

Finally, she reaches into the pocket of her coat, pulling something out.

She tosses the thing towards Zane, and for a brief moment, it debates its choices. It was not told to grab the object, but she had earlier seemed disapproving when it hadn’t done as expected.

Zane elects to choose what will hopefully be the safer path: remaining motionless and allowing itself to be hit by it.

It doesn’t look down as the thing- a matchbox, it seems- hits its chest, and it ignores the way it lands half on one foot.

Martha’s expression makes the digital code that represents fear form, but Zane refuses to let that show on its face. It’s most likely already in trouble- it doesn’t need to add anything else to its list of mistakes.

“You were supposed to catch that,” she glares, and after only a slight moment of hesitation, Zane explains its reasoning.

“You had previously ordered me to not do anything without direct instruction. I did not want-“ Zane freezes, quickly correcting the words. “- that order was still in place, and I was not instructed to catch-“

“That’s enough.” Martha’s glare seems to have lessened some at its logic, and Zane feels relief form- it had chosen the correct option.

She still stands there, watching it. After a moment, Zane decides to take a minor risk by speaking out of turn.

“Would you like me to pick it up now, Master?” It prompts, hoping that the words won’t be another infringement.

A simple nod is the response, so Zane quickly does so, eyeing the matchbox carefully in its peripheral vision. It’s beginning to get a bad feeling about this, but it pushes that aside, choosing instead to wait for further orders.

“Burn down the workshop.”

Every circuit, wire, and gear is suddenly charged as it struggles to process the order. It quickly attempts to get its reaction under control, but judging from the look on Martha’s face, it’s already too late.

Her glare is piercing, but Zane still makes no move to follow the order. Its mind is playing catch up while the coded emotions run rampant, and it ends up simply standing there, unable to move.

“Original.” Martha narrows her eyes, a deathly glare on her face. While it was only one word, there are many threats behind it, and Zane has to resist flinching at the thought of what usually comes after that tone.

“Ye- yes, Master?” The stutter only makes its power source heat up more, fans whirring as they combat the heat generated from it. This is not good, not good at all.

Her expression darkens even more. “I gave you an order,” she points out, tone venomous.

Zane gives a nod, desperately trying to hide the conflicting digital emotions churning inside. “You- you did, Master,” it confirms, dropping its gaze to the snowy ground.

“Why are you not following it?”

Grip tightening around the matchbox, Zane tries to find the correct answer to the question- a difficult feat, considering that it doesn’t even know the real one.

With every moment that passes, it knows that the punishment it receives will become worse, but it still can’t make itself move.

“I… don’t know,” it finally confesses, hating itself for the way its voice shakes. This is only going to make matters worse, and the situation is already awful.

“I’m going to give you one more chance, Original. Burn down the workshop. Now.”

Hands shaking, Zane slowly pulls out a few matches, staring at them far too intensely.

The sparks that form when he drags the head of the match against the striker send dread pooling in its gut.

And the fire that engulfs the tree is a bit too bright for comfort.

When it’s brought back to the car, it does everything it can to keep a grip on itself, everything it can to hold itself together.

But watching the smoke in the distance feels like the final nail in the coffin.

When it’s taken back to the training room, chained down and almost burned from the inside out, Original doesn’t cry.

It keeps its eyes on the ground, pushing the agony to the back of its processor in order to muffle the screams that want to escape.

There’s something in the back of its mind desperately trying to shout out that it’s broken.

Original shakes its head. “No,” it whispers to itself, the digital, fake emotions beginning to fade.

“There was never anything to break.”

[aweebwrites]

Allies Ch6

The journey up north was longer and colder than expected on both sides. The Knights could have taken a boat which would be much faster than horseback, but it ran the risk of them being ambushed on water which they could hardly defend themselves on. Kai couldn’t swim, Zane has yet to have a buoyancy update so he would sink like a rock and while Jay and Cole could swim, Jay didn’t have much stamina and Cole’s strength is negated in water. Speaking of, the Earth Knight was still sore about their loss over the Golden Scythe. Figuratively and literally.

“When I find out who’s the dirty rat selling secrets to Garmadon, I’m gonna wring them until they pop.” Cole grouched, rubbing the back of his head that still throbbed with pain before placing the chunk of ice wrapped in a piece of cloth Zane gave him back there.

“We’ll worry about that later. Right now, we’re leaving the Taiga area and entering a thin strip of Tundra before we reach the Arctic zone.” Zane told them as he looked ahead.

“Jee. It’s almost like I couldn’t tell.” Jay huffed, able to see his breath as he rubbed his shoulders.

“Isn’t that a good thing? It means we’re getting closer to our next destination.” Kai pointed out.

“Yes. But it is a good and bad thing.” Zane told them, gesturing to the vast plains ahead. “From here on out, we won’t have any cover against Garmadon’s Generals nor the harsh cold of being this far up north. Should there be a blizzard, we may end up in trouble. While our horses can handle the cold for some time, a blizzard would be pushing it.” He warned them.

“Well we can’t stop here. We have to keep going and pray for the best.” Kai says, as he pulled the hood of his snow coat up.

“Luckily…” A voice says and they all jolted, whipping around with powers charged ready to attack. “The best is here.” Nya says as she walked out of the Taiga forest and they deflated.

“Nya” Kai says with a smile, walking over to hug his sister. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to stay with Emperor Wu?” He asked her, confused.

“Yeah- until we figured out Garmadon knew about the plan with the weapons. I was sent to warn you but I saw you already realised that.” She told them as Zane slid off his jacket he didn’t need to give her once she rubbed her arms. “He sent Ultra Violet to stop me and if it hadn’t been for an out cold dragon in the ground, I don’t think I would have made it here untouched.” She admits and Kai looked horrified.

“It would be best to keep this conversation going while we travel.” Cole spoke up and they nodded, Nya slipping on the hood.

Up high in the trees some distance away, Emperor Garmadon’s team watched them as they went.

“It will be significantly harder to stay out of sight while tracking them across the Tundra and Arctic biomes ahead.” Cryptor says as they all hovered mid air on their Floating Cougars.

“Indeed. But we must follow them nonetheless.” Kozu huffed as Lloyd pondered the situation.

“We’ll be able to keep our distance.” He told all three Generals. “There’s snow collected on the ground and the sky is clear for now. We will use their footsteps in the snow to track them.” He told them and they nodded, lowering to the ground and allowing their cougars to walk along the path they took.

"That will be a task easier said than done. I'm cold blooded. I wasn't made for cold temperatures." Pythor says with narrowed eyes at the cold that had his tail curling under itself to keep the tip somewhat warm. "Had I known we would be coming to a place like this, I would have packed warmer." He huffed.

"You're the only one to fail at doing so." Cryptor huffed as Lloyd pulled a thick coat from the carry on satchel the cougar had attached to its saddle.

“Take it.” Lloyd says, tossing it at Pythor and they looked at him surprised. “I’m not fully cold blooded like you are. You’ll need it more than me. It has dark crystals inside so it should keep you warm.” He says as he focused his eye on the empty horizon.

“This isn’t a point to be considerate. Pythor can-”

“We’re still taking a risk being out in the open like this. The Knights are ahead of us still. They have a greater number than we do now. It would do us poorly for us to have our numbers lower now. If the Knights plan on ambushing us with Pythor down then we’d be in serious trouble and they might be able to take back the scythe.” Lloyd says, cutting Kozu off, glancing back at them. “So if I have to get a little cold to ensure our success, so be it.” He says focusing ahead again and the three Generals were quiet- that is, until Kozu cuffed Pythor over the head.

“Ow!- em...” The serpentine was quick to cut off his protests at both Kozu and Cryptor’s pointed glares. “Thank you for your kindness, my Prince.” He spoke with a bow, not surprised when Lloyd hadn’t acknowledged him any further.

He lowered his head so he could rub the back of it, grumbling under his breath about Stone Generals and the toughness of his hand.

_______

“Is that it?” Jay asked as they stopped at the edge of a large glacier covered in snow, looking at the large conical structure of ice down below.

“Yes. Let us make haste. No doubt Garmadon’s Generals are close by.” Zane says then turned his shaking horse away from the edge of the cliff so they could travel down the easier slope.

“Will this place have a dragon too?” Kai asked Zane, riding up next to him.

“Well, Emperor Wu did say each location would be protected by a guardian and since a dragon was at the last, I’d say yeah. Only, this dragon will no doubt freeze us if we aren’t careful.” Cole says, scanning the area for signs of their enemy.

“Alright. Then Kai and I will head for the Shurikens while you, Jay and Nya will keep an eye out.” Zane instructed.

“Sounds solid to me.” Jay says, his face barely visible from the white fur lining the inside of the hood of his jacket, the sight pulling a small smile out of Cole.

He really was an adorable little gremlin.

“You’ll need to set up somewhere for the horses though. Much more of this cold and they’ll give out on us.” Nya says from her space behind Kai.

“Right.” Zane nodded as they moved in.

“The Shurikens of Ice must be there… And so will its guardian dragon.” Lloyd murmured to himself as they watched them move towards the structure.

“More reason for us to keep our distance.” Cryptor says irritably, the weight of his mechanical body sinking him pretty deep into the snow, despite his position lying on his stomach.

The same was also true for Kozu, the larger General sunken so deep into the soft snow that only his eyes were visible. It made for good camouflage however. They were adorned in black, a very striking colour in an endless wasteland of white. A gust of wind blew by then and Lloyd shivered despite him trying not to. His fingers and toes had long gone numb with the cold and despite the mask over his nose and mouth he wore, he was sure both were tinging blue by now. But none of that mattered. They had a mission and-

“Head back with Pythor and the animals to keep warm. We’ll keep watch.” Kozu says with a tone of dismissal though his voice was slightly muffled by the snow.

“This isn’t for consideration either.” Cryptor says, cutting off any protest Lloyd was about to voice. “How do you expect us to succeed if you go around succumbing to hypothermia and frostbite? You need fingers to hold the Golden Weapons and toes for balance if you've forgotten.” He reminded and Lloyd frowned, not pleased with that but knowing they were right.

Without a word, he shuffled his way down the small hill of snow before he got to his feet, walking over to the base of a blue glacier where they had used dark fire to carefully melt a cave in, the Cougars and Pythor close around the purple and black flames inside. Pythor wisely didn’t comment when Lloyd sat closer to the fire than all of them. He knew when to keep his mouth shut sometimes after all. Lloyd stared at the dark, dancing flame that bore the colours of his father. He wonders how he fairs…

___

“Emperor Garmadon. Emperor Wu is fortifying the Golden Peaks in preparation for the arrival of the golden weapons. He has arranged for a very powerful elemental master to guard the area until they return.” Shade reported to Emperor Garmadon from his throne as an Umbrian servant handed him his prepared helmet that sustained significant damage from the first battle with his brother in decades.

He however, left with mere scratches. Wu was the one who walked away with the most damage. But he had always been a fast healer. He has no doubt recovered by now.

“Which brings me to even more news.” Shade spoke in a lighter tone and Garmadon narrowed his eyes as he slid his helmet on.

“Well? Spit it out.” Garmadon says impatiently and Shade smirked, meeting the Emperor’s glowing red eyes.

“Emperor Wu has a son.” He says and Garmadon huffed through his nose, darkness escaping them as he did.

“That I’ve found out on my own. What else?” He asked Shade, dismissing that piece of information.

“He’s a wielder of wind, a Prince kept secret from even the middle walls of his palace and he is the one to guard the Golden Peaks. He is very powerful. Perhaps even more so than the Knights of Fulgor themselves.” Shade was quick to continue and Garmadon frowned, leaning back into his throne, thinking tactically.

Any child of Wu’s would hold great power. It was good Wu hadn’t sent him after the weapons, otherwise there would be a chance that Lloyd and his Generals would fail. But if he was guarding the Golden Peak he needed access to once he had the Golden Weapons, then he might have some trouble. Forging the Golden Weapons into the Megaweapon will take time. He smirked however. He too had an advantage. His Stone Army was impervious to wind. They were too heavy to be moved by even the strongest of windstorms. Garmadon chuckled to himself, clasping the fingers of his upper arms under his chin while folding his lower ones. As long as his son brings him the Golden Weapons, his victory was certain. 

“He’s also obsessed with the title of Green Knight since Wu suspects it will be him.” Shade continued and Garmadon rose a brow at that.

A weakness. Excellent.

“Tell me Shade, what is his name?” Garmadon asked him.

“His name… Is Morro.”

______

“Father, I don’t understand. Why send Nya? Why not send for me instead?” Morro asked his father as they walked through the inner walls of the palace.

“Because you are needed elsewhere.” Wu told him, glancing at the frustrated expression his son wore, the green cape attached to his dark green stained armor billowing behind him.

“Elsewhere?” Morro asked, bewildered. “Where else is so important that I should go there instead of on the quest to find the Golden Weapons that will decide the tides of this war?” He asked Wu, unable to comprehend anyplace more important.

“The Golden Peaks.” Wu says quietly and Morro stood firmer at that. “Should the Knights bring back the weapons, we will need uninterrupted access to the peak to craft the most powerful weapon of all and end this war once and for all. Should they fail… We need for Garmadon to not have any access to it.” He told Morro, turning to his son.

“I know you are impatient, that you wish to fulfil the Destiny of the Green Knight, but you must understand Morro. We do not have the weapons to confirm nor deny that you are. You must brace yourself for either great triumph… Or great disappointment.” Wu told him, walking over to place a hand on his shoulder. “One thing is certain. We will find out the true identity of the Green Knight soon, whether we’re prepared or not.” He says and Morro sighed through his nose then nodded, both of them continuing on their path to the stables where the rest of the Elemental Masters had gathered.

“You will lead them to the Golden Peaks and protect it until the Knights and I arrive.” Wu says to Morro and he nodded, taking his jet black steed the palace servants brought to him.

He then mounted it, grasping the reins tightly.

“I don’t see my horse anywhere.” Skylor spoke up, looking around to see everyone else with their horses.

“That is because you aren’t going with the others.” Wu says then nodded at them, signaling them to take off.

“What? Why? I-”

“I need you for something more urgent.” Wu says instead, cutting her off and Skylor frowned. “I need your help flushing out a pest…” He began and she looked intrigued.

______________

(Next chapter gets... Deep isn't the right word. Just know that we're getting into the story of how Lloyd lost his eye and it is not pretty. No gore is involved but they sure as heck mistreat the poor kid. Thanks for reading!) _____________ Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5

[sibillascribbles08]

Oh shit I knew I forgot to do something, namely this. Can you talk a bit about the development behind Clone Verse and Toby?

Uuuh laslkdf well hell it’s story time I guess

SO ONCE UPON A TIME my friend sus was like I’m gonna draw a scruff kid because of idk some discussion that was going on and I was like okay that’s cool and so this came into existence.

And I can literally never see concepts and not have my brain go running off with it and was like “oh man what’s his name going to be” and my friend Nora was like “Toby” and I was like perfect

But then it raised the question of like… how does he exist. Despite my trans hcs for Ronin he can’t actually have kids and would literally never be comfortable with doing so so not doing that.

Cloning, the obvious fucking solution. Immediately afterwards my brain is like “Clones from an alternate universe wherein The Overlord won in season 3 and was trying to make a clone army in this hell universe and SOMEHOW Toby managed to escape with some friends and end up in this other fic universe of mine where he happens to run into the very people he was cloned from and they adopt him.”

Like, it’s such a simple solution right??

I considered this universe, where Toby came from, how bad it was (hint: It’s REALLY fucking bad) and what his character would be like. He found Dareth and Ronin when he was ten and he was a VERY angry smol. He constantly tried to run away, would steal food or hide it, wouldn’t talk to either of them, the first person to get to him was E and the rats. Eventually Dareth manage to gain his trust through the rodents.

It took him two whole years to get to the point where he completely trusted them, considered them parents, despite the fact he was afraid if they knew who he was they’d kick him out, but even when he confessed all of it they just held onto him tighter.

I debated if he would ever go back to this hell universe but came to the realization he would, or at least he’d be determined to do so thanks to the stuff he’s learned from his dads as well as his memories of his friends. He first got the power through the shards of the realm crystal (a stone that allowed people to jump between realms). It shattered during a fic I haven’t written. He actually had to steal the shards and then went to the cloud kingdom to see another OC of mine named Ruta.

She then puts the shards in his arm with a spell that allows him to absorb and use the power of the crystal which allows him to tear open a portal to his home universe.

He does all this at sixteen btw

And then I was like well damn he GETS there but how the fuck is he supposed to be The Overlord because for the record the guy has the power of creation and is also huge as fuck.

Me: ONE PUUUUUUUUUNCH

No, literally, I realized he can basically make wormholes now so why not have him trigger that out of desperation and he just spaghettifies the overlord (yes that’s a real term)

My brain: If the overlord is space dust what if that gets all up in his arm

Woops he has space arm now, well technically it’s dark matter and golden weapons but whateverrrrr

And well, after that the obviously conclusion is to start working on making shit better

Not sure if I can map out how all that went down. I had to consider what I had, where it would go from there, what I wanted out of it. Cryptor and Mindroid were obviously around, but what about Echo? If he’s been on the island for 20 years what condition is he in? Pixal would now have the ice element since Zane is gone. Who’s even alive after this mess? Some of the ninja who were being controlled, sure, but a lot of the people who were cloned are likely dead by now. How many kids manage to last considering the whole “falling apart” nonsense? What about the amalgamations that are still alive? (Yeah, those are still around for the record, they live in the old factory. Toby visits them a lot)

And like, Toby’s sixteen. He can’t do all this himself. He can’t run a city. So he convinces the others to help.

There’s trauma, everywhere, so much emotional baggage. It was a bit staggering when I realized just HOW MUCH. Pixal never got to grieve properly and keeps clinging to ghosts. Borg is torn between wanting to invent and help, and considering his inventions started this whole mess. Echo’s not only haunted by what happened to him but never properly gets help for it out of distrust. Cryptor’s just drowning in guilt, as is Mindroid. The ninja as well.

But, you know, by now I’ve covered YEARS in this universe in my head. Stuff gets better, even if slowly. I considered the events in the canon story line and how they might differ in this universe (i.e. Acronix still falls out of the time portal but never fights Wu obviously. Morro never escapes the cursed realm. Would Nadakhan still get found and released? What about the oni?)

Toby and Cryptor weren’t initially a thing either. I did a design for Cryptor for fun, consider that if he’s running security that would probably be who Toby goes to first (plus thanks to having E as an older brother he feels comfortable around nindroids). Their friendship starts out rough, but it gets better, and the more I listened to them chatter I realized that oh man… Cryptor’s in LOVE.

And Max, well, he came far later on. Me thinking about how tasty the friends to bitter enemies trope is. That it’s something I could pull off if there was, say, some other universe where Max absorbed the overlord instead.

Welcome to the boss level.

[an-actual-elementale]

Ninjago MBTI

ESTJ - Cole, Cryptor ISTJ - Skales, Misako, Clouse ESFJ - (Lou), Nadakhan ISFJ - Ed, Skylor, (Lil’ Nelson?)

ESTP - Samukai, Kai ISTP - Ronin ESFP - Edna, Dareth, Chen ISFP - PIXAL, Morro, Echo Zane

ENTJ - Garmadon, Pythor INTJ - Zane, Overlord ENTP - Dr. Julien INTP - Nya, Cyrus Borg

ENFJ - Lloyd INFJ - Wu ENFP - Jay INFP - (Nobu?)

~

So here are the MBTI types of some of Ninjago’s recurring cast members and villains :) the ones in parentheses are tentative since they tend to be characters who did not have much time onscreen. If any of you find any characters (along with their types) not listed here, please do share them with rationale (info on Morro’s typing doubling as an example of rationale below the cut) ^^

So one character whose type might raise a few eyebrows is Morro’s - he’s an ISFP. I go by cognitive function methodology, meaning I stay away from listing specific traits (for example, “altruistic” can be used to describe most feeling types while “analytical” can be used for most NT types) and I instead talk about how a character’s cognitive functions influence their motivations, actions and perceptions. In Morro’s case, most would argue that he seems like more of an INTJ than an ISFP. The reason why I’m convinced that he is an Fi-driven ISFP rather than an Ni-driven INTJ is because of the way his motives and actions play out.

Ni, or introverted intuition, is a function that tends to seek balance and a full sense of vision - two things we know for a fact Morro has a deficit of. If Morro functioned as an Ni-Fi type, his story would have ended very differently. Since Ni is about clarity of vision, and it takes truth into account quite strongly, Ni would understand what the external forces (destiny in this case) are saying, and it would reexamine itself accordingly.

Introverted feeling (Fi), on the other hand, is far less concerned with objective truth and instead focuses on what feels right for itself. If unhealthy Fe is fake and manipulative, unhealthy Fi is self-centered and defensive against anything threatening its perceptions of self and truth. Sound familiar? It should.

As far as internal dialogue is concerned, here’s the difference between Ni-Fi (INTJ) and Fi-Ni (ISFP) in Morro’s existential crisis: Ni-Fi: “Destiny says I’m not the chosen one? How…? Why..? Never mind that - if I’m not the green ninja, then who am I? What am I supposed to do now?” Fi-Ni: “Destiny says I’m not the chosen one? No - there’s no way it ISN’T me! I refuse to believe it isn’t me! Forget destiny! I can forge my own path.”

Another thing I wanted to point out was that Morro himself didn’t think up the entire scheme of season 5; remember that he got his orders from the Preeminent herself. He was smart yes, but canonical evidence shows that he was still an emotionally-driven character, not a logically driven one. Te (extroverted thinking) was definitely a function that fell lower in his cognitive stacking.

[fanfalc-616]

The Rights Of A Nindroid

Chapter Twenty-Four

(Previous Chapter Here)

This took a while and it’s shorter than normal but uh yeah this is what you get-

“Yes, Master.” Zane nods his acknowledgement of the order and begins to solve the problems he had been given.

It’s been around eight months since his capture. How long exactly, Zane is unsure, but to his dismay, he finds that he… doesn’t really care. Does it matter? He can find out how long he’s been captured if he gets out.

When. When he gets out. He will be freed eventually, it will just… be a little while longer. He will simply have to wait, and follow the orders he is given in the meantime.

He follows every instruction to the best of his ability. He still doesn’t believe the lies they tell him about his worth, but he says what he is told to say on the matter.

“Original. How are you doing?” Martha prompts from nearby.

Zane feels a wave of confusion wash over him. What answer is expected of him here? “Erm… good?” He tries, hoping that his response is correct.

The blast of electricity makes him whimper, shuddering at the horrible feeling.

“You’re a nindroid. You don’t have real emotions- only a fake programmed version of them.” Martha corrects.

Curling in on himself some, Zane nods his agreement, despite not truly believing such. “My apologies, Master. I am doing…” he pauses a moment, trying to find the right words. “... I am functioning properly.” He corrects.

Martha nods, and Zane goes back to his work, studying the complex equations carefully. The point here is not getting the answers, but to make Zane understand that he needs to follow orders.

It had taken him a while to realize that, but there isn’t much he can do. He has to follow the instructions they give him… who knows what they’ll do if he refuses.

He doesn’t speak to Cryptor as often, not even with Morse Code. It’s too risky; they cannot afford to get caught.

It’s been quite some time since they’ve used the images of his team to harm him, and this has the unfortunate consequence of Zane… forgetting.

Contrary to popular belief, being a nindroid does not mean a perfect memory. At first, yes, but there still is not enough storage space for everything, and over time, things are automatically deleted to make room.

The image of Kai’s face is fuzzy now, the sight of his crooked smile and carefully styled hair is foggy at best.

The sound of Jay’s voice is distorted, the way his laugh would ring out after he told a joke humorous only to him and the hyperness in his voice when he was talking about something he was passionate about has begun to fade.

The feeling of being in Cole’s arms is faint, the gentleness that someone so strong had for him and the warmth from his hold is no longer so easily brought to mind.

Zane sighs, trying to dispel the thoughts. He shouldn’t be thinking about that- thinking about what he no longer has will only cause more pain, and he’s miserable enough as it is.

He tries to go back to his work, but much to his dismay, his motor functions glitch, and instead of writing something down, he slams his fist into the table hard enough that it hurts.

Fear takes a grasp on him, and he struggles to go back to the problems once again. Unfortunately, he can’t seem to get a proper grip on the pen, and it slips from his hands.

Martha walks up behind him, and his breathing quickens. “It- it was a glitch. I haven’t been able to do proper maintenance while I’ve been here, and-“

“Be quiet, Original.” Thankfully, she doesn’t sound angry, but instead slightly thoughtful and maybe even slightly concerned. After a moment, she sighs. “We’ll have to get that looked at.” She mutters to herself.

Zane stays perfectly still, wary of upsetting her. An angry Master is the last thing he needs at the moment.

Thankfully, they allow him to stop working on the problems and take him back to his… wait. This- this isn’t the way to his locker.

They’re taking him to the workshop.

The last time Zane was in the workshop, he had been forced to- he had been made to watch them- he- the Falcon was-

Zane can feel himself trembling as he’s taken back, but he doesn’t dare resist. While he can’t see any way that the situation could be worse, he does not doubt for a moment that it could.

He debates trying to run when they start tying him to the table, but he quickly rejects the idea. It’s too risky, and will only result in more punishment.

A mechanic walks in, and Zane feels as though a weight has been lifted off of him. It will not be Kyle working on him, and for that, he is very much grateful.

He remains silent as his chest plate is opened, but when the man begins to dig around inside of him, Zane fails to muffle his quiet noise of fear.

“Stop resisting, Original.” Martha gives the order from off to his side. “This is not a punishment, but it could very easily become one.”

“Y- yes, Master.” Zane chokes on his own fear as he speaks. All he can see is the way his friend was torn apart in front of him, and though the event has passed, it still occupies his mind.

Wires are tugged on, gears are inspected, vital parts are pushed around… this is its own kind of torment, a kind that no human could ever experience. The feeling of his inner guts being toyed with has him breathing heavily, trying to block out both his pain and terror.

“Please…” The word is only a soft whisper, but he silently curses himself for speaking up. He is not supposed to speak out of turn, and doing so will mean that he will end up in pain- more so than he would have gone through if he had been able to keep his mouth shut.

But when a hand brushes against his power source, Zane can’t find it in himself to hold back. The only thing occupying his mind is fear as all common sense is thrown out the window.

“Stop, don’t- please, stop it!” He struggles in his bonds, but is unable to make any leeway. Recently he has become able to ignore quite a deal of pain, but hands manipulating his innards is a feeling that he will likely never get used to.

He can hear the beginnings of a verbal reprimand, but something bumps against what functions as his spinal cord- where all his sensors meet.

He couldn’t hold back his scream if he tried.

Thankfully, the pressure quickly stops, but there is a residual ache where it had been touched, and Zane finds himself sucking in shaky breaths.

Martha seems annoyed as she glares at him. “Original, you-“

“It hurts.” Zane chokes out. “I’ve been behaving, I shouldn’t be being hurt. I haven’t done anything to deserve-“

A blast of pain makes him cry out again, shaking and trembling as they continue to manipulate his inner workings.

“Let me explain something to you, Original.” Martha’s voice is as cold as ice. “You deserve nothing. You aren’t human. You aren’t even alive. You are nothing more than zeroes and ones, and even if you do everything right… you will never be deserving of anything. You’re not even really suffering here, this is only a programmed response to it. Because you are lesser. And you always will be.”

For a moment, Zane doesn’t react. He doesn’t know how. So after a few moments, he resorts to his default reply.

“Yes, Master.” He forces his voice to remain steady.

To agree is the only option he has left.

[fanfalc-616]

The Rights Of A Nindroid

This is chapter Four

(Previous chapter here)

Do you guys hate me yet? Because if this doesn’t make you hate me I’m sure the rest of the story will (:

It has been what Zane believes to be one week since his capture. He is unsure if this is entirely factual, however, due to issues with his internal clock and a lack of windows.

Any time not spent being experimented on or in ‘training’ is spent in the locker that he was put into on his first day.

Today he is once again taken to the training room and chained down, and he takes a deep breath as he prepares himself for what will come.

But much to his surprise, the light is slightly dimmer- just enough that he is actually able to make out his surroundings.

Someone else enters the room alongside the woman, and Zane feels his eyes widen and shock overtake him as he recognizes them.

“Cryptor?” He breathes, watching his old foe walk in, completely unrestrained. “What-“

“Do not speak, Original. You have not been spoken to.” Cryptor orders, his voice cutting through the air like a whip.

Zane opens his mouth to speak, but the woman does first. “It hasn’t learned it’s place yet. You’re here to help teach it of that.”

Cryptor nods. “Yes, Master.” He agrees, completely devoid of emotion. “How should I go about doing so?”

“However you see fit.”

Cryptor nods and makes his way over to Zane, red eyes glowing menacingly. “What are you?” He demands.

Zane arches an eyebrow. Now this he is more familiar with. “What are you?” He replies.

The electricity goes off again, this time feeling like fire. They had somehow mastered the way to trick his sensors into simulating different kinds of pain- a rather frustrating accomplishment.

When it dies out, Zane has his jaw clenched, and he glares up at Cryptor.

“Do not backtalk.” He orders. “You are a nindroid. You are lesser.”

“You are also a nindroid.” Zane frowns. Shouldn’t Cryptor be on his side?

“I am aware of my status below humankind. You, however, are not aware of yours. Being nindroids means that we are lesser to them. You think differently, and a Master has ordered me to teach you the truth.”

Zane stares for a few moments, trying to connect the one in front of him to the proud general he once knew.

“What have they done to you?” He breathes out, horror overtaking him.

This isn’t right. This is not- he and Cryptor had always been enemies of the worst kind, but this is not a fate he would wish on anyone.

Does he truly believe this? That he is lesser to humankind? That he is nothing more than a tool for them to use?

“I have been taught my place.” Cryptor says the words with too little emotion, but Zane can just make out a flash of fear on his face, an expression there only for an instant.

“You are a nindroid, like me. Humanity is above us. And one way or another, you will come to this realization.” His words are firm, no sign of doubt behind them. But in his eyes there’s pain, an expressed emotion that once again vanishes in an instant, the nindroid clearly forcing it down.

Zane shakes his head. “I won’t.” He returns confidently. “Rather, you will remember that you are their equal.”

An electric blast simulates the feeling of bruising strength that could easily crush metal, and another scream is torn from him, leaving him panting as he tries to keep his inner workings cool.

“You can hurt me all you wish,” he gets out, “but I will never give in- because ninja never quit!”

Another electric shock makes him feel as though his sensors have been impaled with thousands of razor sharp blades, but Zane grinds his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut to prevent any further screaming.

He’s done playing their games.

He will escape from this prison they have made, and free Cryptor alongside him. And if he is unable to liberate himself, then his friends will be the ones to save him.

“As I said before… you will learn your place.” Cryptor’s voice has the slightest twinge of regret, so minimal that only another nindroid would be adept enough to hear.

“I already know my place. It is beside my fellow ninja.” Zane counters, once again bracing himself for the pain.

This time it is like ice, an element that in reality would not harm him, but the electricity still tricks his sensors into thinking that he’s far too cold to withstand.

A small whimper escapes him, but he does his best to muffle the noise. Even so, Cryptor’s next words chill him down to his core, even without the assault from the sensors.

“It’s not. If it was, they would be trying to rescue you. Yet you’re still here- and that is because they have recognized your true place. Beneath them.”

Zane grinds his teeth as he shakes his head. It has only been a week, only a week. They’re coming for him, no matter what they try to convince him of. It may take some time, but they will free him.

He takes a deep breath and repeats his previous words, just as determined as these officials to make his point, to prove what he believes in.

“A ninja never quits.”

{ { { { { { { { { { ~ } } } } } } } } } }

Cole stares blankly at the wall, trying to piece together something, anything they could do to help Zane.

It would be suicide to try and go up against the government straight on, so they need to come up with something else. Some other way to force them to release Zane.

But what? What could make them do that?

So far, all they’ve drawn are blanks.

With a sigh, Cole puts his head in his hands. There has to be some way to rescue him, something that they just haven’t thought of yet. They just need to figure out what.

It seems ridiculous that they could straight up kidnap Zane and still be in the right. Legally, Zane does belong to them, so unless they can somehow change that-

Wait…

What if they can change that?

If they can’t go after Zane directly, maybe there’s a more roundabout way to do it. A way to prove that Zane shouldn’t be considered an object, and therefore can’t be legally owned.

But how could they do it? Would it be possible to make Zane a legal citizen?

Well… there’s only one way to find out.

Cole gets up from the couch and heads off to find the others. It doesn’t take long before they’re all gathered on the bridge, and he shares what he had come up with.

“Would that work? Could we actually do that?” Jay looks hopeful, practically vibrating with his excitement.

Lloyd shrugs, looking over at Nya. “I don’t know much about legal things,” he admits, “except for how to get away with stuff that isn’t- Darkley’s education wasn’t exactly good for academics.”

Nya frowns, tapping something out on her BorgWatch. “I’m not sure if it would… but it’s worth a shot.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Kai demands. “We need to get him back!”

Lloyd shakes his head. “It won’t be that simple,” he warns, “they’re going to do everything they can to keep him.”

“There’s nothing they can dish out that we can’t take.” Cole forces confidence into his words that he doesn’t feel- as of right now, they need to just stay optimistic. “One way or another, we’ll get him back.”

Jay wears a determined expression as he nods his agreement. “I’ll start looking for what the legal process could be.”

“I’ll help.” Nya adds. “It’ll go faster with two of us.”

Lloyd smiles. “I’ll do some digging on the government itself- maybe we can get some dirt on an official or two and make them help us.”

“And I can start pressuring them for information- they’ll have to give up some stuff eventually.” Kai decides.

“You’re really good at annoying people into giving you what you want.” Lloyd agrees with a quiet snicker.

Jay shrugs. “At least he’s putting that skill to good use.” He jokes back.

Kai glowers at the two of them. “Now is not the time for jokes! We have to focus on rescuing Zane!”

“Take a deep breath.” Cole puts his hands up placatingly. “They’re just trying to make the best of a bad situation. But you are right- we need to get him back as quickly as possible.”

Nya nods her agreement. “Let’s get moving.”

So everyone heads of to do their thing, and Cole realizes that he didn’t come up with an idea of how to help.

Is there anything he can do to help? All the others at least have some special skill, something they can do to assist. But what does Cole have? Dance? That’s hardly going to help here.

With a sigh, he heads back over to the couch, staring at the wall as he tries to come up with an idea.

There’s gotta be something he can do… right?

He needs to help, he can’t just let his boyfriend be held hostage like this, and everyone else has something they’re doing… why can’t he help? He’s supposed to be strong, but… strength isn’t really helping here.

Because the reason Zane went out was because he was trying to take care of one of Cole’s chores because he would always do it wrong- intentionally, even! And if Cole had been the one to go shopping, if he had actually taken care of his own chores, Zane would still be here.

So in the end… this is his fault.

Taking a deep breath, Cole shakes his head, trying to dislodge the thoughts. No, he can’t think like this, he needs to focus on the task at hand.

But that’s the crux of the problem- he doesn’t have a task.

He got Zane into this… and there’s nothing he can do to get him out.

Shaking, Cole puts his head in his hands, silently cursing himself.

Be strong. That’s the one thing he’s supposed to do.

Tears are forming in his eyes, and Cole shakes his head. How is he supposed to be strong for the team… when he can’t even be strong for himself?

[fanfalc-616]

The Rights Of A Nindroid

Chapter Twenty-One

(Previous Chapter Here)

I was gonna post this tomorrow because it’s late right now, but... I don’t know I just have no impulse control and I’m posting it now lol

Unfortunately, even with the development of the Falcon, things aren’t much better.

See, Cryptor can’t let Kyle or any one know that he has access to the Falcon, so he has to just… keep on doing what he’s been doing. Following orders, being a pawn.

Still, he does have the relief of being able to easily talk to Zane and sometimes Sentry when in the sanctuary of the lockers. That makes things at least somewhat more manageable.

But that doesn’t make this damn illusion of a maze any easier.

He’s clearly not supposed to know that it’s a simulation, but with the help of Zane’s Falcon, it’s ridiculously easy to tell that it is.

"Come on General, you can do it! You say you're smart, right? Prove it!" Kyle’s voice echoes through a speaker- or an illusion of one.

Cryptor grinds his teeth, fighting to prevent his emotions from showing. “I’ll try, Master.” He gets out, still trying to concentrate. You can solve a maze by sticking to the right wall… he thinks he saw that somewhere.

He spends a few more minutes trying to figure out where he is before sighing, shaking his head. Did they purposefully make this to frustrate him?

Knowing them, they probably did.

Groaning quietly, he starts to go back to solving the damn puzzle.

Then he pauses. What if he climbs the walls? If he gets above it, he could easily see where he’s supposed to go.

Granted, he’s probably not supposed to do that, but no one explicitly said he couldn’t, and it’s worth a shot.

So he turns to the wall and starts fumbling for a grip, trying to see if he can haul himself up.

Once again, Kyle’s annoying voice shows up. "Wouldn't try that if I were you-"

It takes everything Cryptor has to avoid snapping at him. Can this brat just-

A sudden electric shock from the wall sends him tumbling downwards, and he lands shakily, barely managing to keep his footing.

"Told you."

Pure rage is building up inside of him, but Cryptor forces it down, trying to keep a hold of himself. He can’t act up. He has to behave. Even if Sentry isn’t at stake anymore, his way of contacting him might be discovered.

He takes a deep breath as he steadies his footing. “You did, Master. I should have listened.”

Cryptor fucking hates his life. How did he even get into this?

Right. Pythor was legally his owner and the government accepted Cryptor as a bribe so that the damn snake could avoid prison.

Which was illegal, but no one really cared.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kyle questions.

Cryptor tenses at the words. Is he supposed to actually answer that? What the hell should he say?

“No thanks.”

Why. Why is he like this. What the fuck is wrong with him today? Or in general, really. He’s definitely got some issues.

Gee, maybe if he thinks real hard, he can come up with a reason why.

"Please reconsider?" He’s asking a question, but his tone implies that he’s not going to be taking no for an answer.

“What do my thoughts matter to you? You don’t-“ Cryptor cuts himself off. “I- I’m lesser, right? What I think and feel doesn’t matter.

The words are bile in his mouth. This really is how he lives now, huh? Just… lesser. Forced to be whatever they want him to be.

… eh, life could be worse.

He could be Zane and be in a relationship with a bunch of idiots.

Kyle sounds slightly annoyed. "Doesn't matter if the thoughts aren't interesting. I wanna know, so tell me."

“Well my main thought here is how much I want to beat your face in, but I’m guessing that-“

He freezes, sudden realization hitting him as he processes what he was saying.

“Wait-“

"Alright." Kyle’s voice is calm, but there’s a darkness behind it, something that’s showing that he’s barely holding back some kind of angry response.

“I- I didn’t mean to say that, I- I’m sorry, I-“ Cryptor fumbles to find words, but Kyle doesn’t want for him to bullshit his way through an excuse.

"Nice try." Kyle’s voice is tight with annoyance, that rage still hidden behind it. "Too late, though."

Why does Cryptor keep doing this to himself? Really, he should know better by now.

“... I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I’m in trouble.”

"Look at that, you are smart after all." Kyle’s voice is passive aggressive now; every time he speaks more and more of his emotion is bleeding through.

Cryptor curses quietly. “Don’t suppose I can talk my way out of it?”

"Because that worked so well five minutes ago, didn't it?" Yeah, Kyle’s definitely pissed off.

Wonderful.

“I- I’m gonna go back to solving the maze now.”

Cryptor hates the fear in his voice, he hates how controlled he is by this damn brat, but he is, and there’s nothing he can do about it, nothing but be a pawn in whatever game he’s playing.

At this point, the goal of the game seems to be to fuck up the pawns as much as possible.

So he goes back to the maze, silently debating the pros and cons of what would happen if he flipped off a camera.

He decides against it. He’s already in enough trouble.

Cryptor doesn’t say another word as he carefully does his best to solve the maze- and while it takes hours and hours and actually the entire day- he manages to make it out.

He looks over at a camera. “I’m not going to get to go back to my locker, am I?”

Even though it’s technically a question, there’s no doubt behind his words. He knows full well that he’s in trouble- and a lot of it, at that.

"Don't ask questions you know the answer to. Saves a lot of time." Kyle sounds almost indifferent now, but Cryptor knows that he’s still going to get hurt- badly.

He forces a nod. “Yes, Master.” He agrees, waiting for the guards to drag him off to the room that he actually never left.

The damn sensory manipulation is really getting on his nerves.

When the illusion is lifted and he’s able to see how he’s chained down again, Cryptor doesn’t bother trying to look up and make eye contact with Kyle.

He’s in enough trouble as it is.

"I'm not really in the mood to joke with you right now, so I'll make it quick." Cryptor isn’t looking at him, but he can hear the annoyance and frustration in his voice.

Biting back a snarky remark, Cryptor nods, breathing out softly. The sooner this is over, the sooner he can go back to the locker.

Before he gets the chance to blink, Kyle is suddenly in his face, grabbing him by the chin and forcing Cryptor to look him in the eyes.

"I'm starting to have enough of you.” He snarls lowly. “I'm the only reason you're not in pieces right now. Martha isn't at all fond of your… Personality. And I might just end up agreeing with her."

Cryptor feels himself tense up at the words, shock and near terror overtaking him as he processes them.

He’s not sure what to say- is he even supposed to say anything? Should he apologize? Stay silent? What the hell is he supposed to do here?

After a moment, he opts to remain silent, wishing he actually had his face plate so that he could close his eyes and not have to keep looking into the malice filled blue ones that stare into him.

"I'm getting tired of this. So I'm saying it one. Last. Time. Don't talk back to me like we're friends. I can accept the snarky remarks, but you were out of line. Way out. Either you correct your behaviour yourself or we have ways to make you. There won't be a next time. Nod if you got that."

Cryptor tries to ignore his terror as he mutely gives a shaky nod. He…

He doesn’t want to die.

When Kyle lets go and steps back, Cryptor drops his gaze to the floor, his whole body trembling in the sheer terror flooding through him. He knows the blond well enough to realize that he’ll follow through on the threat.

He’s unchained and is taken from the room, but they don’t have to drag him- Cryptor doesn’t resist.

But as they reach the doorway, Kyle’s voice calls out after him.

"I will break you,” he promises darkly, words dripping with venom.

"And you're going to thank me for it."

Cryptor feels his terror increase tenfold as he tries to make sense of the words. Before he can even begin to understand the true meaning behind the threat, he’s taken away, back to his locker.

The door is closed, but his mind is still racing, fear is still rushing through in every single wire and gear he has, and he feels almost nauseous- if it’s even possible for a nindroid to feel something so human.

(“Cryptor? Are you okay?”) Zane’s voice questions, but Cryptor can’t think of a response, he can barely even hear his own thoughts.

(“Please, just… leave me alone.”) He sounds pitiful, weak, pathetic. Just as worthless as he’s been told he is.

(“Cry, you can talk to me. I can hel-“)

Cryptor sucks in a deep breath. (“No, I can’t. I wish I- it’s not…”) He doesn’t have the words for the emotions tormenting him, he doesn’t have the words to describe the twisted feeling in his guts, he doesn’t know how to explain the sheer helplessness that’s overtaking him.

(“Stop talking, Original.”)

(“You weren’t given permission to speak.”)

[fanfalc-616]

The Rights Of A Nindroid

Chapter Fifteen

(Prevoius Chapter Here)

(Discord Here)

Been a while since I’ve posted, sorry about that-

I’m supposed to be in school rn lol

When finally taken back to the lockers, after thirty exhausting hours, Cryptor feels as though he’s on the verge of a forced shutdown.

The damn brat had switched out with someone else, claiming something about an internship. And that had at least meant that the one hurting him no longer had a personal vendetta, but it was still painful.

Cryptor hates how close he had come to actually asking them to hurt Zane instead, but he didn’t. Though judging by the way the other looks when the two of them are put in the locker, they hurt him anyway.

DID THEY GIVE YOU A CHOICE TOO?

Zane doesn’t answer for a moment, likely out of surprise or maybe exhaustion.

I DIDNT GIVE IN

Cryptor snorts. Of course he didn’t. He’s a self-sacrificing dumbass, and it had been that knowledge that had allowed Cryptor to hang on himself.

HOW LONG A BREAK DO YOU THINK WELL GET?

It’s a morbid game, really, but the two of them had taken to guessing how long they would get before dragged out for testing or torture.

AT LEAST SIX HOURS WE WERE THERE FOR OVER A DAY

Mulls over the words, Cryptor considers the idea. Zane’s probably right, but he feels like arguing.

OR THEYLL WANT TO BEAT IT INTO US WITH A SHORTER ONE

There’s a pause, and Cryptor takes a moment to hate himself. Yes, start an argument with his one friend, that’s a wonderful idea.

IS SOMEONE HAVING A BAD DAY?

Cryptor snorts. Good, Zane can tell when he’s only pretending to argue. Probably picked that up from his teammates.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

The friendly banter continues for a while, but Cryptor can eventually feel himself shutting down from exhaustion.

He taps out a goodbye and a quick explanation before falling asleep, hoping- but not expecting- that they’ll get today off.

{ { { { { { { { { { ~ } } } } } } } } } }

Jay is starting to lose his grip.

Kai had gotten himself under house arrest by breaking into the government building- which he neglected to tell them the location of before doing so- and since they live on the Bounty, they’re stuck grounded so that the police can make sure that Kai’s not leaving.

Also he’s been sulking the whole time.

It’s already been almost two months, but he still has another four left, and everyone on the ship is going crazy from it.

“I am this close to renting a hotel until his house arrest is over.” Nya holds up her hand so that her pointer finger and thumb are almost touching.

Cole sighs, shaking his head. “I’d join you, but at this point I’m scared of leaving him unsupervised.”

Jay laughs a little. “Honestly, what could he do that’s worse than what he’s already done?”

The two immediately snap over to looking at him.

“Are you trying to jinx it?!” Cole groans. “You know full well how crazy he can get when it comes to protecting us.”

Wincing, Jay accepts the point. “That’s fair. But I doubt he would-“

Lloyd comes running into the room. “Kai left the ship. He tied his house arrest bracelet to the roomba so it would move, and I don’t know where he went.”

Jay blinks. “I stand corrected.”

Then they’re all scrambling to their feet, rushing off to try and find the dumbass hot head that is Kai.

Cole runs outside, probably off to go look at his usual hiding places- he’s run off before, but never under house arrest.

Nya goes to her computer, most likely going to try and track his phone- that’s her usual go-to for when one of them goes off to do something stupid.

He’s not entirely sure where Lloyd’s going, but he probably has some kind of plan.

But before Jay has the chance to come up with his own, his BorgPhone rings with a number that he doesn’t recognize.

A flash of fear takes over him. Oh, Kai better not have gotten captured. What happens if he has? They might hurt him, he might go to prison, he could get into all kinds of trouble!

With shaky hands, Jay hits accept and holds the phone up to his ear.

“Hey, this is Jay Walker. Who is this and how have I ruined your life?” Somehow, he manages to keep his voice from shaking.

“It’s more of your boyfriend who’s doing that.” Sentry grumbles. “I found Kai sneaking into Borg Tower- he was trying to find more hints of ways to rescue Zane. Please come and get him before he gets caught- I shoved him in a back room to keep people from finding him, but he’ll probably find a way out pretty soon.”

Jay curses softly. “Of course he did. Okay, I’m on my way.” He starts to head out even as he speaks, silently complaining about how reckless his boyfriend can be. He loves him, he really does, but sometimes- like now- he really wants to slap him.

It takes him around fifteen minutes to make it to Borg Tower, and when he steps inside, Sentry is standing right next to the door.

“He escapes from the room, so I put him in the timeout corner. He’s handcuffed to the wall, but I’m pretty sure that-“

Jay blinks a few times. “Wh- why do you have a timeout corner? And why does it have handcuffs?”

Sighing, Sentry shakes his head. “The white nindroids were created recently and are pretty immature,” he explains, “so a timeout is a pretty effective way to get them to behave. The handcuffs are for when they still don’t listen- now come on, we should hurry before he finds a way out.”

So Jay lets the nindroid lead him through the tower, trying to stop the way he’s nervously jittering. It- it’ll be fine, it’ll be totally and completely fi-

They come into a back room where Kai is in a chair and in handcuffs that are attached to the wall, forcing his hands above his head.

Jay glances over at Sentry. “Uh-“

“We have two timeout corners. This one is for the nindroids who cause trouble repeatedly. Or in this case, the ninja who does that.” He glares at Kai, but the red ninja looks utterly unapologetic.

“I need to rescue Zane. And you didn’t have to call someone to pick me up, I’m not some child in a school’s principal’s office.” Kai huffs, shifting in his bonds.

Jay starts to try and tell him that he’s totally acting like he’s just got his parents called in an office, but Sentry shakes his head, and speaks up.

“There’s a back door you can take him out so that he doesn’t get caught, but keep a better handle on him next time. We really don’t need him getting an actual prison sentence.”

Glancing at his boyfriend, Jay thinks for a moment, trying to figure out if he’d actually be able to get Kai out of here without being seen.

“I’m going to call Cole,” he decides, “he’ll be able to carry him out of here.”

“I can walk!” Kai protests, looking betrayed. “I don’t need to be carried-“

Sentry nods. “Probably a good idea. He might put up a fight on the way out.”

“I can hear you, you know! I’m right here.” Kai sounds annoyed and frustrated, and Jay sighs, feeling himself cave a little.

“It’s okay, Fire-Hazard. I’ll talk Nya out of murdering you, so long as you promise to actually stay on the ship this time.”

At his words, Kai pales a little. It’s clear he hadn’t thought about how his sister would react to him running off.

“I’ll behave.” He grumbles, clearly unhappy about it. “But I can’t just do nothing.”

With a start, Jay realizes that he’s right. The reason that he keeps doing stupid things is because he needs to be doing something to help- if he doesn’t, he’s going to feel like he’s failing Zane.

So they need to come up with something that he could work on, some way he could get them closer to freeing him.

Maybe if he was working on part of the plan…

Jay looks over at Sentry. “We’re looking for legal loopholes right now, right? Could he help you try and find some? From the computer on the ship, I mean.”

Kai perks up a little, and Sentry looks like he’s considering the idea.

“Will that keep him out of trouble?” He sounds hesitant, but Jay quickly nods.

“He just wants to help, give him a way to do that and he’ll be fine.”

The nindroid looks over at Kai. “Is he seriously going to be able to look through legal documents for longer than thirty seconds?” He sounds unamused, but he pauses again when he sees Kai’s determined expression.

“I looked through a ton of them to break in. I’ll do whatever it takes to get him out.”

After hesitating for only a moment longer, Sentry nods. “Alright,” he agrees, “I’ll send over some I haven’t gotten to yet.”

So Jay ends up only calling Cole so that he can let the others know that Jay found him, and Kai actually walks back without putting up a fuss.

It takes a bit of work to get him on the ship stealthily enough so that any potential cameras couldn’t see, but they manage it.

However, when they step onto the bridge, the three others look annoyed beyond belief.

After a pause, Kai chuckles nervously. “On a scale of one to ten, how much trouble am I in?”

“Eleven.” Nya’s smile expresses anything but happiness, and Cole and Lloyd look only slightly less upset.

Somehow, Jay manages to uphold his promise, talking Nya out of giving Kai some five hour lecture that would probably make him regret existing.

Lloyd grabs Stabby and re-attaches the house arrest bracelet, and it’s not long after that the red ninja is in front of the computer, having about seven files open that he’s comparing and researching.

Later, Cole comes up to him. “The research thing was good thinking; it’ll keep him distracted while still allowing him to help.”

Jay flashes him a smile. “What can I say? I actually have good ideas sometimes.”

Cole smirks. “That’s debatable.”

“You literally just told me that I had a good idea.” Jay reminds with his own grin.

With an overly thoughtful expression, Cole strokes his chin. “Did I? I don’t remember that.”

“Wow, and here I was with the idea that elephants never forget.” Jay snarks back, barely containing his snickers.

Mock gasping, Cole puts a hand over his chest. But as he starts to teasingly reply, his smile fades, and he looks down.

“... Zane loved mock arguments.” He murmurs softly, pain suddenly written on his face.

Jay feels his own cheerfulness drain a little. “It took a while to teach him how, but he got pretty good at them.” He quietly agrees as he remembers the difficulty Zane had used to have with humor.

“He got pretty good at them though.” Cole’s smile is more pained now, but it’s there.

With a soft chuckle, Jay nods. “Absolutely trashed us with them.”

But then the emotions are over taking him, and Jay feels himself shaking at the thought of his titanium boyfriend. Who knows what they’re doing to him, from Kai’s recount they’ve been outright torturing him, he-

Cole puts a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay.” He speaks softly, and his voice is uncertain, as though he’s not really sure of himself, even though it sounds like he’s trying to keep it steady.

Jay nods weakly, feeling tears burn at the back of his eyes. “It’ll be okay.” He repeats softly, desperately trying to believe the words.

In the end, Cole has to coax both him and Kai into bed with gentle reassurances and promises that he sounds slightly unsure of, but at this point, Jay’s too desperate to think about how he might be wrong.

He just wants Zane back… is that really too much to ask for?

Apparently, because it doesn’t seem that they’ll be getting him back anytime soon.

That night, even when cuddled in the arms of his other boyfriends, he cries himself to sleep.

Zane will be okay. He has to be okay.

Jay won’t be able to take it if he’s not.

[fanfalc-616]

The Rights Of A Nindroid

Chapter Nineteen

(Prevoius Chapter Here)

This AU is basically a collab with @ablackswansweet at this point-

Zane huffs out a weak breath, and it’s clear that he’s tiring from the way they’re hurting him. “I am equal to any human. This will not be changing any time soon.” Despite his obvious exhaustion, he still manages to sound strong and determined.

Shifting awkwardly, Cryptor glances over at Kyle. Apparently he’s been behaving well enough for them to take the chains off, but he still has no idea why the brat brought him to one of Zane’s training sessions.

Kyle seems surprised by the defiance, even a little amused. "I'm… Actually really surprised you'd say that now, after all the trouble you went through last time. Guess it's still not sinking in…”

Then he looks at Cryptor. “General?" He prompts.

Cryptor blinks. “What?”

He’s… actually not sure what Kyle wants from him, but he’s got a sinking feeling that says it’s not going to be good.

Kyle frowns, looking annoyed. "What do you mean, 'what'? I thought it was obvious. Aren't you supposed to be a very high-quality AI?"

Cryptor grinds his teeth. “I am a high-quality AI. You didn’t exactly expl-“ He stops before finishing the rude remark. “I, uh. I didn’t quite understand you… Master.”

The title feels like fire on his tongue, but he forces it out, hating how often he’s had to use it recently. These fuckers aren’t his ‘Masters’- he’s his own person and doesn’t belong to anyone.

… if only the law agreed with him.

Shaking his head, Kyle sighs. "Can't believe I'll have to spell it out for you. You used to be more fun than that- Anyways, Original here is acting up. Again. So what you are going to do, like a good assistant, is punish it. Understood, now?"

Kyle’s slightly passive aggressive smile is unnerving, but it’s the furthest thing from his mind at the moment.

He wants Cryptor to be the one to hurt Zane? He wants him to hurt his friend?

“I… I can’t… Kyl-“ He once again cuts himself off as he fumbles for words. “Master, I- I can’t do that. I can’t- no.” He comes to his conclusion. “No, I won’t.”

Kyle’s expression darkens some, a clear threat in his tone as he speaks. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Are you defying a direct order from your Master, nindroid?"

Opening his mouth to speak, Cryptor finds himself being cut off.

“If you are going to hurt me, do it yourself!” Zane snaps, a sharp edge to his tone as he seems to have regained some of his bearings. “Don’t bring him into this!”

With a scowl, Kyle looks over at Zane. "Shut up, scrap metal. Another peep from you or it and it's the sensory room.” He then turns his attention back to Cryptor.

“Now, General, last chance. Punish it now, or I'll take away the thing you're so desperate to protect that you'd give up your precious dignity." The threat in his tone is unmistakable, but all Cryptor can see is the fear on Zane’s face that he’s struggling to hide by pretending to be angry- though some of the anger is likely real.

Cryptor can’t think. He doesn’t know what to do here. He has to obey, he has to, but…

“I… that’s not…” He finds himself stumbling with his words just as much as he is in his mind. But after a few moments, he manages to come to a conclusion.

“I won’t hurt him.”

Kyle pulls out a remote, pushing some buttons. Only a few moments later, guards arrive, and he turns and addresses them. "Take Original to the sensory room. If it tries to break free, you're welcome to retain it. Painfully, if need be."

The guards begin to obey, and Kyle mouths something to Zane that Cryptor can’t quite make out.

Still, the white ninja struggles. “Wh-“ He’s cut off as he’s roughly unchained and manhandled. “Hey! Stop it, I- let go of me!”

Panic begins to settle inside him. The sensory room? They had only taken Cryptor there once, and only for a few hours, but it had been living hell. He can’t let them do that to Zane!

Still, he can’t do anything more than watch as they begin to drag Zane away. He once again finds himself fumbling for words. “Wa- wait, no, I- I didn’t-“ He turns to look at Kyle, still feeling fear flooding through him. “Hold on!”

Kyle only shrugs. "I warned you. Really hoped you'd be smart enough to listen."

Zane continues shouting as he’s forcibly pulled out of the room, the anger mixed with fear.

The fear makes way for shock. And shock makes way for anger. “I- you-“ He feels the rage burning deep inside of him as he glares at Kyle “That. Is. It.”

No words can describe how good it feels when his fist collides with the damn brat’s face.

Kyle stumbles back, hand coming up to clutch at his bloody nose. The red stains make Cryptor feel satisfied, but the moment is ruined when Kyle starts… laughing.

He just got punched in the face, and he’s laughing. Laughing maniacally, laughing like the insane jackass he is.

Rage still boils inside of him, and it only burns brighter at that, at the way he’s being mocked. “Shut up! Stop-“ He stops bothering with words as he tries to grab Kyle, to hold him down and pummel the shit out of him-

But the damn guards are back, and he’s being restrained, being held in place in front of the most infuriating person that Cryptor has ever met. “Let go of me!” He snarls. “ I’m not fucking finished with him!”

Kyle is still laughing, laughing like a fucking psychopathic sadist. "HAH! Guess you really didn't like him after all-" Once the words are out, he’s right back to cackling.

It suddenly registers in his head. What he had done. The reasoning for why he hadn’t done it sooner. What’s going to happen now that he did.

His words are only a soft whisper as he speaks, unable to speak louder due to the horror inside of him. “No- no, no, no, no- I…” He looks back at Kyle, who has finally caught his breath.

“W- wait, I-“

The smile he gets is cold-blooded and straight up murderous. "You. Shut your mouth. Now.” He orders. He then pauses a moment before continuing. “I was being way too nice to you, apparently. Gave you ideas.” He shrugs. “Won't happen again.” Then he looks over at the guards.

“Guys, tie it up and bring me… you-know-what."

Cryptor could swear that his power source had shut off for a moment.

He opens his mouth to speak, but then shuts it fast enough that there’s an audible click. Kyle had told him to stop talking, and he’s not going to risk pissing him off more.

Feeling himself begin to tremble, Cryptor fights back the feeling of helplessness that builds inside of him. He doesn’t bother continuing to struggle.

It’s not worth it.

Kyle chuckles lowly. "Not very impressive now, General, huh? You won't stand up to a guy with a bloody nose?" His tone is mocking, and Cryptor grits his teeth. He looks down and squeezes his eyes shut tight, unable to look at the blond.

"You're so pathetic it makes me want to puke.” Kyle scoffs before addressing the guards. “Take it back to its locker so it can wait until we find him."

“Don’t-“ Cryptor cuts himself off as they begin to drag him away. He was ordered not to speak. And he has the implied order to not resist, so…

He’s roughly shoved back into the locker- not that he would’ve tried to avoid going in- and the door is slammed shut in front of him.

Hopelessness.

That’s the only word that could even begin to describe what he’s feeling.

If he were human, tears would be pooling in his eyes. As it is, he can only just stop himself from beginning to sob without tears, doing the nindroid, non-human equivalent.

Because he’s not human. And he never will be.

“I… fuck.” He mumbles the words to himself as he desperately tries to avoid breaking down completely.

He hears a weak, tired laugh escape him of its own accord as he closes his eyes, able to feel his strength draining from him.

“I really am pathetic…”

He’s not sure how much time has passed by the time they bring Zane back, but it’s been at least six hours- a long time for the sensory room.

I DI

DONT

Cryptor cuts off whatever the hell he was going to say. He honestly couldn’t care less about what the white ninja has to say to him.

Nothing he could say would make a difference.

————————————————-

Cryptor doesn’t resist when he’s taken out of his locker. He doesn’t resist as he’s taken down the halls. He doesn’t resist when he’s chained down.

He doesn’t resist at all.

He doesn’t dare.

Kyle is in the room, but Cryptor doesn’t risk doing anything more than looking down, silently pleading for mercy that he knows won’t be coming as the blond walks up to him. "I'm giving you permission to talk again. Don't make me regret that too."

He’s suddenly glad that he hadn’t tried to say anything. Keeping his head down, Cryptor forces out a set of apologetic words. “I won’t, Master. I’m- I’m sorry.”

There’s an annoyed sigh. "You're not sorry you misbehaved. You're sorry you have to live with the consequences.” Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the blond shaking his head. “Anyways, I'm hoping you understand why we brought you here."

Every gear and mechanism is suddenly locked as he struggles to keep ahold of himself. He looks up for a moment, and tries to find some way to defend his past actions for a moment… but only a moment.. “I- I di… yes, Master.” He looks down again.“I understand.”

"Good. At least that's out of the way." Kyle starts to walk around him, circling him like a predator around its prey. "Explain this to me, however. You were so, so desperate to make sure Sentry wouldn't get hurt a while ago. So what the fuck-“ Kyle gestures at his bloody nose “-was that?"

Shaking, Cryptor answers truthfully, his words quiet and, unfortunately, almost pitiful.

“I… I was angry. I wanted to protect Zane, and I was upset that I failed.” Cryptor cringes as he forces himself to continue. “I shouldn’t have done that, Master. It- it won’t happen again.”

Kyle sounds slightly confused, but also kind of mocking, which balances it out pretty well. "You're not really what I'd call a hero, General. What made you think you could be one now?"

Feeling his head snap up, Cryptor answers without hesitation. “I’m not a hero. I never wanted to be. I…” his voice goes quiet again as he continues. “I made a friend. And I just… I wanted to be happy. I wanted- I wanted to feel okay again.” Rage once again washes over him as he continues, this time shouting. “I just wanted some sense of normal in this place!”

Then he freezes. Everything is tense. Oh, he should not have done that, he should not have shouted-

The blond sighs. "Well, so much for that." He takes something out of one of his pockets at just the right angle to prevent Cryptor from seeing what it is.

Dread settles inside of him, but he tries to hide it, tries to pretend that maybe he still has some dignity.

“Wh- what’s that?”

And apparently he doesn’t, because he sounds downright terrified when he speaks.

Kyle’s smile is once again one of the most terrifying things that Cryptor has ever seen. "I have a better question. Which piece of a nindroid's faceplate is harmless enough to remove while still causing a good amount of pain?"

Cryptor feels his eyes widen, staring in mute horror for a few moments before he manages to breath out a few quiet words.

“You- you didn’t.”

The eye piece, the scope. Technically made to be a laser beam, but it has sensors in it- really sensitive ones, too.

The smile grows. "Judging by the look on your face, I'd say that you've got it. That's right, it's the scope!" The part is basically shoved in his face, and Cryptor flinches backwards.

Horror sets in every single wire and circuit he has as he stares at it. “I- you- he’s not…”

The implications… no. No, he didn’t… he couldn’t have… Sentry can’t be… he can’t…

Cryptor manages to look up, to look Kyle in the eyes, to look at his Master. “He’s not- you didn’t…”

The blond is still smiling as he shrugs. "He's as alive as a machine can be… For now. And I want you to fully understand that even if this is just a scope, we have the power to harvest much more delicate pieces, like, let's say…” He pauses dramatically, posing like he’s thinking.

Then he drops the act, and the smile is now a smirk. “A power source."

Cryptor doesn’t move. He doesn’t speak. He can barely even breathe. He at least had the reassurance that he’s not dead yet, but…

Kyle either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about his mental plight. "The other important thing that I want you to remember before you get ideas again is that you are completely responsible for Sentry's and Original's well-beings. If you misbehave or talk back like you did before…” He shrugs. “Well, you saw what happens. "

With a weak nod, Cryptor agrees. “I… I understand.” Dropping his gaze back down to the floor, he continues, confining his statement. “I’ll behave, Master.”

He hesitates for a minute as he comes up with an idea. Not an idea of how to defy, but… an idea of how to obey. How to give him what he wants. What he demands from him.

“I know that I am lesser, and I… I’ll act like it from now on.”

The words taste disgusting in his mouth, but he speaks them anyway, knowing that that’s what Kyle would want to hear.

"Awesome.” Kyle smiles. “I'll have someone bring you back to your locker."

His next words are mumbled so softly that Cryptor can barely make them out.

“I almost feel bad for it, if only Original hadn't acted out first… This is its fault, really."

Cryptor feels everything in him tense. That- he- it’s not Zane’s fault, it…

But isn’t it?

Anger, frustration, and fear are all building up inside of him as he lets himself be taken back to his locker.

ARE YO

Cryptor doesn’t wait for him to finish.

FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE TAKE A HINT AND SHUT YOUR MOUTH

Thankfully, Zane doesn’t answer, and Cryptor takes the opportunity to activate his sleep mode.

But annoyance is suddenly added to the growing list of emotions as he realizes that he’s too worked up to go to sleep.

Grinding his teeth, Cryptor snaps at Zane again, feeling the upset whirlwind of feelings inside of him making him almost sick.

THIS IS YOUR FAULT

There’s a long pause before Zane answers, and for a moment, Cryptor feels even more annoyed as he wonders if he had gone to sleep.

I KNOW

He… what? He just- okay, good, he knows that it’s his fault. At least he’s not trying to deny that he got them into this. If he would just behave and do what he’s told, none of this would be-

ILL TALK TO YOU TOMORROW CRY

Rage is still burning inside of him as he answers the white ninja.

I WONT RESPOND

I DONT EXPECT YOU TO

Wh- what does that mean? What kind of mind games is he playing here? Is he trying to trick Cryptor into forgiving him?

It takes hours before he can fall asleep.

And even then… all he has are nightmares.

{ { { { { { { { { { ~ } } } } } } } } } }

Kyle walks down the hall, not bothering to glance at the lockers as he goes by. Really, this was almost too easy. 3D printing a copy of the scope and using sensory manipulation to make it more realistic? Is that really all it takes?

Smiling to himself, Kyle heads off to Borg Tower.

He has an internship to get to.

[aweebwrites]

Allies Ch18

“So they’re coming here?” Lloyd asked as he adjusted his father’s cape for him in his room.

“Yes.” Garmadon nodded. “The people of Fulgor are still at unease knowing that I have the most powerful weapon in all of Ninjago. We decided it was best for me to stay here and they come to us with Shade instead.” He told his son as Lloyd reached for his crown he chose to wear instead of his helmet, not wanting to appear hostile and rile them up.

“The Knights will be coming as well.” Garmadon added to let his son know, bowing so he could place the sparkling and pointy obsidian crown holding amethyst and onyx gems as decor along its base.

“Is that so…” Lloyd hummed as he looked up at his father once he stood straight again, nodding once his crown was positioned properly. “Nice to know they’ve recovered…” He says as he turned to the mirror, looking himself over, his own crown in position.

“All but one.” Garmadon corrected with a knowing look on his face. “I’ve heard you’ve been conversing with the Nindroids more often…” He began.

“Why wouldn’t I? They are apart of the population of our people after all.” Lloyd huffed and Garmadon chuckled.

“Whatever you say, son.” Garmadon says lightly and Lloyd's eyes sparked with mirth.

Garmadon reached for Lloyd's eye patch but Lloyd stopped him.

"I'll go without it for today." He says, smiling at his father.

Garmadon gave him a fond smile then a hug. It was a slow process but the pains of war were healing, leaving them both with a lot more to smile about. Lloyd glanced out the window from over his shoulder, at the naturally dark colours of the plants and wild grass that covered lands that were barren just a few short months ago, at the new life that was already appearing in their rejuvenated lands. He might have made the wish with his father's training, but it was the desire of all who resided here.

________

It was too dangerous to take a ship across the Endless Sea. Not with Starteeth and Leviathans and all manner of creatures lurking in the waters. Instead, they had to be carried by the Emperor and Prince himself as they had not yet reached the age where flying crafts were readily available. Besides, that was one of the key components of their truce they have been discussing back and forth via letters carried by birds as Ninjago was somewhat behind on technology. They were all going. All 4 knights. Kai, Cole, Jay and… Nya. Kai tightened his fist, thinking back to Zane at the sacrifice he made for almost naught. Wu was the wrong one somehow and while he wasn't evil, the source of this very war fell back on his family problems.

Kai sighed as he looked over at the Endless Sea far below. He was just frustrated and angry and grieving still. His Zane… The best he could do was to bring him back to his father's home far in the Birch Forests. He was still intact, the minor malfunctions he would have had been fixed by Nya herself as Jay supervised. His left hand was repaired but he had deep scars and damage that couldn't be repaired. His hand could grasp Cole's still but not all the way. His movement with it was strained and making a fist was a colossal struggle. He's adjusting to be more dominant with his right instead. Cole's ribs and lungs had finally reached somewhere in the healing process, as almost all of his ribs were broken pretty badly and punctured his lungs like pincushions. He had a whale of a concussion for the longest while, repetitive memory loss and a few forehead scars his bangs easily hid. While his memory is a little spotty still on little things, it's unknown if he would show signs of permanent brain damage as they had no means of checking the damage inside his skull. He was to be kept an eye on, just in case.

And Kai himself? He had a pretty nasty looking scar on his stomach and less major ones all over his body. He'll have to watch what he eats for a while to allow his digestive tract to recover from being stabbed open but that was about it. One thing's certain though. He hated snakes and Nindroids that weren't his boyfriend. They could develop the technology to replace his core one day but that could take anywhere between months to whole years, and even then they were sure it wouldn't be anywhere close to the core he had which could spell critical malfunctions. He was still keeping his breath held as he would willingly wait as long as it took to make a solid one, as long as he could have his Snowflake back. Their injuries aside, it was quiet the shock to wake up and hear that Garmadon not only won, but he was successful with ending the war and bring forward peace, that the First Spinjitzu Master whose name was spoken in the uttermost reverence, had weighed the war on the Green Knight, wanted him to destroy his own father, Garmadon as punishment for Garmadon just existing. It was a difficult pill to swallow, that Garmadon wasn't the evil monster Emperor Wu himself had called him… And Emperor Wu, he was in the wrong to think that destroying, erasing an entire country filled with diverse citizens would solve their problems… It was… Instead, it was easier for the people to believe that Wu had been the one to convince Garmadon to do the right thing. It doesn't matter how much Emperor Wu himself corrected them, willing to admit he was the one in the wrong but they couldn't process that at all.

The Emperor accepted it will take time and reminders for them to eventually grow to accept the truth. Kai didn't care too much about it though. His mind was in much, much darker places. He once said that if the war ended, he would stay at the castle as to protect and defend was in his blood. It still was… But if he could get Zane back… He'd take a well deserved year or two off, just to put his love for him before anything else, to make it his true priority. While he still did owe his life to Emperor Wu… Zane… He comes first. He would love to have stayed back, to keep himself holed up in the Birch Forest and to watch over him as he slept, he liked to think. He could have, Emperor made it clear to them all that they didn’t have to come with he and Morro.

But he had to. He… He had to talk to Prince Lloyd. For his and Zane’s peace of mind… It didn’t matter that the Cloud Kingdom had made them stand back. He had thought it over, had relived it in his mind countless of times to see if he would have done the same thing now that there wasn’t some higher influence nudging them… And for the longest time, his answer had been yes he would have stayed back and let them do that to the kid, only interfering when Zane would no doubt rush in to stop it. He knew he was wrong, new he had to change his way of thinking, would have to unharden his heart from the war else he couldn’t face the kid with some half assed apology.

The kid was no older than 8 and they, the supposed heroes stood back and watched as he was stoned, tied to a pole and almost burnt to death and for the longest time, his kind was finding ways to justify that. It didn't matter that he was the enemy's kid. He was still a kid for sun's sake. The day he responded to that day with raw revulsion and a strong never was the day he was sure he was finally on the right path, that he could stand before the kid and mean every word he would say. He glanced ahead as the dark looking island landscape of Penumbra came into view from the metallic basket shaped structure Emperor Wu carried in his paws, Morro flying nearby with their horses and their prisoner of war, Shade who was perfectly fine riding with the horses than with the rest of them.

And if he won't believe him… He wouldn't blame him. He glanced at Nya once she squeezed his shoulder and offered her a small, mostly empty smile before glancing down at the sea. He knew she was worried for him but… Things… Won't ever be ok without Zane...

Jay watched them both from over his shoulder before glancing up at Cole next to him, the wind blowing his bangs away and revealing the scars he had on his forehead. He was the luckier one, to have Cole still. He was touch and go a couple of times, as his respiratory situation was critical but he's recovered enough where he could come along with them as long as he didn't over exert himself. Jay was making absolute sure that he wouldn't work himself up. Internal wounds are harder to heal and can easily be reopened. The moment he so much as sees Cole's breathing change, he'll demand that he rests. It was scary waking up in the medical wing of the castle just in time to watch him go into respiratory distress, to have so many doctors on him at once. They had to borrow his lightning to jolt him back a few times. He… Jay swallowed as he closed his eyes. That was scarier than the war itself.

He blinked once Cole's hand slid along his bandaged left, taking it in his carefully, revealing it to be shaking. It does that now. Some of his nerves ended up pretty messed up so it'll always shake whenever he tries to do anything with it. He just wasn't aware he was trying to do something with it. Cole lifted it to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it that had Jay's heart melting. He smiled softly and leaned into his side though carefully as he was still bandaged up under his half armor. Maybe it was a good time to take a break for a year or two. As elemental masters, they would always be needed but… A little time away wouldn't hurt…

_____

"Cryptor." Lloyd says as he walked into the Nindroid General's quarters, watching as he sharpened the blade in his new black titanium arm.

"It's ready." Cryptor spoke without prompting, sparks flying as he continued to sharpen his black and red titanium blade, pulling it away to look it over. "Even for us, that was a difficult thing to make. Your powers aren't exactly easy to contain and especially not in something so small." He hummed as he moved on to buff and polish it.

"What? Was it too hard for you guys? I thought Nindroids are always at the peak for technological advancements." Lloyd says lightly, walking towards the gun metal gray box placed on a table next to Cryptor's wall of swords, opening it to look inside 

"There's a difference between hard and complicated." Cryptor gruffed as he glanced over at him, watching as he took the device that was the size of his palm out. "... Why would you have us create this? After all that has happened?" He asked him after a moment as Lloyd inspected it.

"Because there's nothing to gain from misery, even if it's your enemy's misery." Lloyd told him as he gathered his green energy. "... And he was the only one to feel remorse." He added with a whisper before the room lit up green.

_______

"Dial it back a bit. This is supposed to be a meeting of peace." Jay murmured once Cole unconsciously tensed next to him as they rode into the courtyard of the castle, two of Garmadon's 4 generals waiting on them.

"Right." Cole murmured with a slow sigh. "It's just reflex. I'll be fine." He reassured as he forced himself to relax in the presence of Pythor and Ultra Violet, the she- general bearing new electrical scars across her right cheek and along her exposed arms she boasted proudly.

"Welcome to the Dark Castle and welcome home, Shade. We're glad you and your party could make it, Emperor Wu." Pythor says almost condescendingly. "They will take your horses to the stables to rest and refresh themselves." headed once they came to a stop before them, the Serpentine and Umbrian behind them walking forward to take their horses as they climbed off their mounts.

"The Emperor awaits." Ultra Violet hummed as she turned away. "Follow us." She added as Pythor turned around to slither next to her.

The group of Fulgoric people shared a look before following after them, Nya and Kai walking before Wu and Morro while Cole and Jay took rear guard duty, Shade walking silently before them and behind the Emperor and his son. Shade was just glad to be home after a little over three months. While he was brought out of his prison cell after a few days of being there, he was just upgraded to a fancier one. His room was lavish, yes but he wasn't allowed to leave it by himself, not that he wanted to. He'd rather wither away inside than deal with the Fulgoric guards that thought it was funny to joke about slipping something into his food to get rid of him, or the ones who liked to remind him that while the war had ended, he was still prisoner and if he so much as looked at anyone any sort of way, he would be dealt with. He would have gladly escaped on his own if he could but he still had to wear vengestone cuffs he wasn't allowed to  even think of removing or else he would immediately be dealt with. If he hadn't had family to come home to, he would have told them to just do it already and spare him looking at their ugly mugs.

At least he really was home now and home was even farther away from Fulgor…

_____

Skylor had to say… Her stay wasn't the worst but it wasn't exactly pleasant. She was brought out from her cell after a day or so when the war allegedly ended and she was given a room to stay in until Emperor Wu came to collect her. She was suspicious still but she couldn't do much as she had a wristband on that was impossible to damage or take off. It had Vengestone inside, she was sure as she couldn't use her powers with it on. It also had the ability to read her body's hunger and water levels it seems as whenever she felt peckish or thirsty, a Stone Warrior would bring her food or water. She was allowed to leave to get fresh air and stretch her legs but always with a guard. The looks she received were harsh and distrusting from the castle attendants but they hadn't said a bad word towards her. They were more favorable of shunning it seems. She was given puzzle books as a means of entertainment but she was still bored out of her mind for months. She was just glad to finally be going home now. She was standing in the dark themed throne room, being guarded by a Nindroid and an Umbrian soldier while Emperor Garmadon and his son sat on their thrones next to each other, the room holding guards of all four species, the other two Generals standing closest to the Dark Emperor and Prince. There was a woman and man with graying hair and a young girl to the far right as well, looking too anxious to be castle attendants as well. She figured he would sit all boastful and proud with the Mega Weapon he no doubt had. But it was nowhere in sight. He must be too paranoid to have it out in the open… As he should be.

All eyes turned to the large obsidian doors as they opened, Ultra Violet and Pythor stepping aside so Emperor Wu and his party could make their way in. Jay, Cole and Kai's eyes immediately zoned in on Lloyd, seeing that he wasn't wearing an eyepatch and seeing that his eye was clearly blinded. A fresh wave of guilt washed over them as they came to a stop before the two.

"Wu. I’m glad you’ve made it safely.” Garmadon spoke up and Wu only nods.

“The weather faired well for travel this day.” Wu responded in kind.

“Excellent. Then let us begin, starting with the exchange of prisoners.” Garmadon spoke up and their eyes locked onto Skylor, seeing that she was well and unharmed.

“Very well.” Wu says then glanced over at Cole who walked forward to Shade with a key, the Nindroid next to Skylor opening his palm and the wristband immediately unlocked, floating over into his hand.

Skylor rubbed her wrist as Shade did. He didn’t wait a moment longer, walking away from the group quickly towards the Umbrian woman holding her arms out to him.

“Shade!” She said tearfully as she hugged him tight, everyone else joining her.

“Welcome home son.” The older man whispered and Shade gave a happy huff.

“Good to be home dad.” He grinned at him before sweeping up the young girl in his arms, letting her bury her face into his shoulder as they were escorted safely out, Skylor frowning as she walked over to the Knights, taking his place.

“Welcome back, Sky.” Nya told her quietly and she gave her a small smile.

“Now.” Garmadon says as he stood, Lloyd standing too, ignoring the intense look Morro was giving him. “Shall we finalize and officialize the pact of peace in a more private setting?” He queries as he walked down from his throne.

“Indeed.”

____

Wu had tried his best to have at least half the Mega Weapon’s power in Fulgor by reforging it but Garmadon stood firm that all of the Weapon would stay with him. Wu had no choice but to leave it be else he risk starting another war when he was at a critical disadvantage. Garmadon didn't need much of Fulgor. Just so as they don’t cross into their territory, which included sea space and airspace which was a full half of the realm without permission nor pick a fight and they would do the same. They didn’t need trade, as Penumbra was an island continent rich with all the resources that they could ever need. It was agreed however, that if there should be a need, they could discuss so further at an agreed point in time. It was all rather quick as they had been discussing months before. He agreed to allow Wu to draft the document to feel as if he had some control over the situation but he was thorough in his reading and examination in both copies of the document to make sure that it was all in order. They both signed both, their sons acting as first witnesses and Kozu and Kai acting as second witnesses.

“May I have a moment with you…” Wu spoke up once they had their own copies in hand. “In private?” He asked, meeting Garmadon’s red eyes.

“Certainly.” Garmadon spoke, handing the Declaration of Peace over to Kozu, allowing him to escort everyone else out, closing the door behind him.

“Brother-”

“So now I earn the right to be called such.” Garmadon cut Wu off, his tone clipped and flat.

Wu sighed, expecting this.

“And you have right to be angry.” Wu says and Garmadon huffed.

“I’m not angry at all, Wu. My time of anger and betrayal has already ran its course. If anything, I’m glad to no longer be apart of what the First Spinjitzu Master called family.” He says, crossing his arms.

“You can’t possibly think that-”

“But I do.” Garmadon interrupted.

“Father was misguided in some ways, yes but you are still-”

“I have never been apart of that family, not since the moment father decided I’d become nothing but a monster.” Garmadon countered, remaining cool as signs of frustration began blooming in Wu’s expression. “He said it himself. I am no longer his son and you yourself casted me aside just as easily as I am but a monster to you both.” He continued on.

“But you are not a monster, I understand that now. I-”

“No. I’m not. But I was.” Garmadon says with a frown then straightened. “Listen Wu, I know you strive to fix what has happened between us but you must also understand. Not everything that is broken can be fixed.” He told him, his tone taking on a softer edge.

Garmadon rose up from his seat and walked over to one of the nearby windows in the large office space, looking out at the kingdom he called his, a nearby city already being constructed as they finally have the chance to grow as a kingdom.

“I have changed since that day, Wu. For the worse before the better. I have learnt many things over these thousands of years passed. The bond we had as brothers has long been dissolved and I take blame for that.” He says as he watched Lloyd go to greet his Ultra Dragon in the courtyard, his den being constructed as an add on to the castle.

“But bonds can be reforged, brother.” Wu says as he stood. “I was so quick to believe what father had told me, that I hadn’t considered that you could be different than those monsters of tales and the regret will weigh on me each passing day. But let us forge a new bond, a stronger one. I… I do not wish to lose you because of my misgivings.” He pleads and Garmadon turned to look at him.

“You are right, Wu. Bonds can be reforged and we already have forged another. But reforged bonds will never be the same as the original… And this bond we have forged is between Emperors who want the best for our Kingdoms.” Garmadon says, meeting Wu’s golden eyes. “You have a son as I do, a kingdom as I do to look out for. You are not trusted in mine as I am not in yours. It would be best if you dally here no longer. The sun will leave this end of the sky soon.” He spoke quietly, turning back to the window.

Wu… Deflated… He expected this but he had hoped to change his mind. Today, he lost twice.

_____

Moments earlier...

“Prince Lloyd.” Kai says after they left the room, the latter turning to leave. “Could I… Talk to you for a second?” He says once he glanced over to look at him.

“Could we?” Cole spoke up and Kai looked back at he and Jay.

They must have the same intentions as they did.

“... Very well. But I have to visit Ultra so I hope you’re fine with walking as you speak.” He says as he turned away, walking ahead on his own, Cyptor and Kozu remaining behind.

“Nya, Prince Morro…” Jay says, turning to them.

“It’s fine. Go.” Nya dismissed with a wave of her hand.

With that, the three Knights followed after then the Dark Prince.

“We were wrong to just leave you there.” Cole blurts first.

“It didn’t matter if you were the son of our enemy. You were a kid and we shouldn’t have even hesitated to help you.” Kai was quick to follow.

“There’s nothing that can justify what we did- and it shouldn't be. We were supposed to be heroes, but we were nothing more than heartless villains.” Jay added, rubbing his left arm guiltily.

“Zane might not be here with us but I know he feels the same. It doesn’t matter that we didn’t directly hurt you. We did nothing and that is just as bad, if not worse. Because of us, you lost your sight and we can never return that… We regret not doing something when we clearly should have...” Kai whispered, hanging his head in guilt, the others following suit.

There was nothing but the sound of their footsteps going down the stairs before Lloyd stopped at the base of them, turning around to look at them. To really look at them.

“... I forgive you.” Lloyd spoke and their heads snapped up in surprise. “I do. All of you.” He continued.

“My father says holding grudges will only tire my hands. I never really understood what he meant before but I do now.” He says, offering them a small smile that lifted a heavy load off of their backs. “Here.” Lloyd says as he tossed something at Kai he caught on reflex.

The Fire night stared down at what was tossed to him with wide eyes, his breath caught. This… This looked just like… Zane’s core...

“It’ll adapt to his energy when you install it. Tell Zane to value his life a little more. I might not be willing to do it again if something happens to that one.” Lloyd hummed as he walked out into the courtyard, waving off his shout of thanks, smiling as he looked up at the Ultra Dragon.

The dragons left a little while after the war to undergo metamorphosis and returned just three days ago like this, officially his. He chuckled as they nuzzled him in greeting, stroking their large snouts as they did. He did feel lighter now that he finally let go of the grudge he held against them. He wondered if his father will feel the same. He did say if you can’t cure an infected limb, to cut it off after all…

____

Lloyd watched with his father atop the castle’s lower walls as Wu and his party left Penumbra for the last time. They both felt lighter from the visit in a good way. His father still had a lot of things to work through but he’d be here to help him through it.

“Hey dad, Penumbra looks amazing from above as the sun sets…” Lloyd says lightly and Garmadon glanced at him, watching as he hopped off the edge of the wall, shifting mid air and turning to his father as he hovered.

He gave a low roar, nudging his head to the side, urging him to join him. Garmadon watched him for a moment. This third form he was given had only dark, destructive memories to them… Perhaps… Perhaps it was time he made new memories with it. With that, Garmadon too hopped off, a dark plume enveloping him, disappearing soon after to reveal the great, black and purple dragon few have seen. Lloyd nuzzled him for a moment, as encouragement before taking the lead, flying further inland, a roar of happiness leaving him as he did. Garmadon echoed it with his own, catching up to his son with ease. An ending like this was well worth the wait.

Wu watched as both dragons disappeared in the distance, the feeling of loss strong in his heart. He turned ahead, towards his home. He would respect his decisions. He glanced to Morro once he nudged him with a wing and smiled at his son’s attempt to cheer him up. He too stretched a wing out, wrapping it around his son’s shoulders as they rode towards the sea. He still had family. In his son and in his Kingdom.

____

“Thanks Morro!” Cole called as Kai rushed ahead, stumbling through the snow for a moment before he ran ahead, towards the thickest tree in the Birch Forest, not caring that his stomach had started to hurt,

He panted as he came to a stop before the tree house, unlocking the door with the core glowing lowly in his hand and hurrying down the stairs, seeing Zane laying there still.

“Slow down Kai! You don’t even know how to install it!” Nya called after him as she hurried down the stairs behind him. “Give it here. Let me.” She says, already pulling a dusty stool and toolbox close.

Kai does, watching anxiously as she opened him up, Jay and Cole joining them a moment after, Cole needing to walk, not run. They watched as she work, Jay supervising as well. They got the old, burnt out core at last but Kai held on to it, not willing to let anything that belonged to Zane be thrown out. They connected it carefully and secured it in place, closing him up again.

"Well?" Cole asked anxiously after a moment of them sitting there, Zane's eyes still closed.

"I don't know. It should have worked the second we connected it. Maybe the core isn't compatible with Zane?" Nya says, looking to her brother solemnly as he stated at his face still, holding his original core close to his own heart. "Kai…" She whispered, heart aching for him.

"Lloyd said it'll adapt to his energy. Maybe it's taking a while." Kai said instead and Nya and Jay shared a look.

"Open his chest plate again." Jay says and she does so, her eyes widened and he saw what was below.

The green energy core. It was turning blue, the energy pushing through him and starting up his systems.

"He's booting up!" She gasped, moving from his chest to his face, watching him closely, the others crowding around him.

Zane's eyes opened then, flashing green before turning to their usual blue as his core did the same. He blinked, looking at his friends confused as they cheered.

"What happened? Where am I?" He asked them, confused as he sat up, pausing once he came face to face with…

Flashes crossed his eyes, of the war, of his friends unmoving, of Kai unmoving. His breath caught, his eyes filling with tears.

"Kai…" He whispered, reaching a shaking hand out to him, cupping his cheek to reassure himself that he really was here.

Kai gave a sound between a sob and a laugh as he nuzzled into his touch, pressing a kiss against his wrist as he did.

"You're here…" Zane whispered and Kai did laugh then.

"You're here!" He says before pushing forward, pressing his lips against Zane's straddling his lap as he did.

The others stood back, letting them have their moment. This war may not have turned out how they expected but they were all together again, with a new friend in a land not too far away. 

That was a happy enough ending for them. ___________________________________________ (And there we go! That's that! I might mess around and add little ficlets randomly about their time after the war (I really would very much like an oppo wedding, the ninja eventually becoming actual friends with Lloyd and uncle Kozu and Cryptor content) but that's up in the air still.If you got this far, thanks for reading until the end and if you haven't then that's still ok! Thank you for just glancing at this! I'll keep trying to improve my writing style but I'm pleased with how this turned out so :D!! Thanks again for reading!) ___________________________________________

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